I, Josef, Immortal
by silvanelf
Summary: An enemy from Josef's past returns, rekindling Josef's longest and most bitter feud as his memories from his life haunt and follow him through time. The story of Josef's life, from birth to present day. There is a modern day story woven into the history.
1. Prologue: It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

Hello everyone!! As usual, I've got a slew of **author notes** to start you off with. **PLEASE READ THEM**! They're important for you to know before you read.

**NOTE #1:** Josef's father was a real person, Friedrich Wilhelm. He was the Duke of the Duchy of Selesia, which was an actual realm in what today would be west Poland, but what was then part of the Germanic empire. This keeps in tune with my impressions of Josef being from Eastern Europe, or East Germany. Friedrich had a sister named Elisabeth Lukretia, who took over the Dukedom when Friedrich died in 1625. Here is where I smudge history a bit. First, I added the name Konstantin to Friedrich's, to make him Josef's father. And I turned Elisabeth from Friedrich's sister, to his daughter. I wanted Josef to have a sibling. And Friedrich's wife, Amalie, is entirely fictional, completely made up.

NOTE #2: As they are living in the German empire, I have posted my dialogue in the Prologue in German. It is modern German however, and the translations are not word for word exact, but are meaning exact. Now, I have no clue how to speak German. I received help from **Netelejala** who studied German for part of her History degree, and also from **Charlie**, who speaks German fluently, and graciously read over what **Netelejala** had written, to make sure everything is correct. So a HUGE thanks to both of them. I believe that after the Prologue I'll be writing most of the dialogue in English, but it was fun to do the Prologue in German.

NOTE #3: This story is AU (another universe). There is, unfortunately, not enough canon background on Josef yet, and so I created this take on what his life could have been like in order to fill that void. Josef is my favorite character. My greatest wish is that the show will continue a long time, and canon will fill in Josef's background, probably contradicting everything I write. If I can fit in new revelations into my plot I will, but if I can't, then I won't. But that's okay, as I said, my story takes place in a AU. However, I always try to remain true to the tone, mood, and characterizations of the canon Moonlight as possible. Hopefully I succeeded!

_**Disclaimer**: Moonlight and all its characters are not my property, but belong to CBS. No profit is being made from this story. It is posted purely for the enjoyment of others to read._

_**Rating**: This story is rated 'R' for violence, language, and sex._

Please forgive typos. Also, I couldn't help myself with the Prologue's title. lol.

Enjoy!

_Prologue: It Was A Dark and Stormy Night_

He hurried through the streets, trying to avoid the worst of the mud. It was dark and cold. He could see his breath on the air. Night had fallen long ago. The wind was blowing hard, with a few raindrops splattering against the earth. He wrapped his traveling cloak tighter around himself, trying to suppress his annoyance. After all, he really had no choice but to be out in this weather. When the Duke of the realm called for a doctor, you came, or else faced the consequences.

Doctor Vogel ground his teeth in annoyance. Hadn't he told the Duke that another child was inadvisable? Hadn't he said to the Duke that his young wife's body wouldn't be able to cope with another pregnancy? Having a son wasn't _this_ important. But had the Duke listened to him? No. He apparently just couldn't keep himself away from his wife's body, even with all the women available to him. He could have had his pick, and then his wife would not be in this situation.

_Poor Amalie_. She was only seventeen. Vogel felt sorry for her. She had grown up in the area, the oldest of a large, noble family. She had had practically no childhood. It had been wasted away taking care of her siblings, as her parents squandered away the family's money. Finally, desperate for funds, her parents had arranged her marriage to a much older man. A much older, _rich_ man. And powerful. Friedrich was the Duke, he ruled over the Duchy of Silesia with absolute control. His power almost made up for the fact that he was over forty, while Amalie had been barely thirteen upon their marriage.

Amalie's first child had followed not long afterwards. Vogelhad been with her throughout her pregnancy. He had been worried she wouldn't survive the first birth. So many didn't, and she was still so young. Her body wasn't ready. But against all odds, (and, Vogel liked to think, thanks to his own skills and administrations) she had lived to see her first child. A girl. They had named her Elisabeth…Elisabeth Lukretia Konstantin. The girl had been dark haired, and blue-eyed, taking after her father. Vogel had pronounced her healthy, and have given the Duke his warning about Amalie giving birth again. He could still remember exactly what he had said...

_He stepped from the birth room, holding the baby wrapped in a cloth. Friedrich rose from the bench he had been sitting on, waiting anxiously for news. The Duke's face lit up upon seeing the bundle in Vogel's arms._

_"Ein Junge?" /A boy?/ Friedrich moved forward excitedly._

"_Nein, ein Mädchen." /No, a girl_./_ He handed the child over to her father. Friedrich's face seemed a little disappointed, but he smiled down at his child._

"_Ich bin Ihnen Verbundend Doktor. Amalie…?" /My gratitude, Doctor. Amalie…?/ Friedrich looked into Vogel's face anxiously, concern for his wife clearly shown in his strong features._

"_Gott war gnädig, sie ist am leben. Sie soll sich glücklich schätzen und nicht Ihr Glück heraus fordern. Ich hoffe das ich mich klar gemacht habe. Amalia würde eine weitere Geburt nicht überleben. Unter keinen Umständen darf sie ein weiteres Kind gebähren." /She breaths still, but only through fate's grace. She is a very lucky woman. It would be best not to test her luck again. Do you understand? Amalie must not have another child, or she will, in all likelihood, die./_

_Friedrich nodded, waving his hand dismissingly at Vogel, smiling down into his daughter's face. Vogel sighed. He had done what he could. He packed up his knives and left._

Now here he was, four years later, again hurrying to the aid of that poor girl. He didn't have much hope. The pageboy's face had been wide-eyed, with a combination of fear and excitement in his expression. From that, Vogel knew the birthing was not going smoothly. He had been woken fifteen minutes ago, by the boy pounding on his door, calling for a doctor. Now he hurried along as best he could. The boy had run back to the castle ahead of him, to inform the household that Vogel was coming.

Rounding the corner of the church in the square, the Duke's castle finally came into view. It was the largest, most fortified building in the area. The castle sat on the peak of a hill, boarded on one side by a wide river, and surrounded by a solid wall of thick sandstone, designed to withstand enemy bombardments. A large stone watchtower was the main feature of the castle. It soared above the battlements, giving anyone looking out through its windows a view that stretched for miles.

The Duke was _extremely_ powerful—the most powerful man in the area, and ruler over the Duchy. Vogel hurried up the main street of the town. He could barely make out a _dim_ candlelight shinning from one of the upstairs castle windows.

As he hastened up the road to the castle, he forgot to watch his footing and tripped over a loose cobblestone. Unable to recover his balance, he fell into the mud that lined the street, catching himself on his knees and hands.

"Verflixt noch mal," /Damn/ he muttered under his breath. He stood up, wiping his hands on his cloak, and checked to make sure he had not lost any of his knives in the fall. They were all still there, tucked safely away in their worn leather wrap. He continued his quick pace to the castle.

His knocking on the door was answered by a maidservant. She curtsied to him, and quickly let him inside. He entered the great hall. It was more lavish on the inside than its rough appearance on the outside. Draperies and old tapestries hung on the walls, and at the far end was a huge fireplace, a brilliant fire roaring away in it. Over the mantelpiece was a portrait of the Duke.

Keeping her eyes downcast to show respect, the servant-girl helped him from his traveling cloak. "Ich werde diese fuer Sie trocknen" /I will dry this for you./

"Danke. Wo ist der Patient?" /Good. Where is the patient?/

"Herr Doktor, wenn Sie mir bitte folgen würden." /This way, Doctor. I will take you to her./ The maidservant curtsied again. She led him through the main hall and upstairs, to the same room used from before. Vogel was overcome with the strongest feeling of déjà vu. There was the Duke Konstantin, sitting anxiously on the bench in the hallway, the candlelight low and flickering as last time. Everything was the same, except this time a little girl was clutching at the Duke's legs, her eyes wide and scared as her father absentmindedly patted her on the head. And it was quiet. There were no screams, no cries of a mother giving birth from the bedroom.

Doctor Vogel hurried over to the Duke, "Seit wann ist der Raum still?" /How long has it been quiet in there?/

The Duke's eyes were filled with worry, " Ungefähr seit den letzten zehn Minuten" /About ten minutes./

Vogel's heart sank. He knew he was too late. Still, he entered the room to see if he could do anything.

The stench of blood hit his senses first. The room reeked of it. Vogel looked at the bed, trying not to gag. A maidservant was huddled near the foot, trying to mop up blood that had soaked through the sheets and onto the floor, staining the wood a dark red. Amalie lay in the bed. She was ashen and still. Her golden-blonde hair streamed out around her face, making her appear angelic, as though she were wearing a halo. She was dead. Vogel looked around for the baby. He didn't see it.

"Wo ist das Kind?" /Where is the child?/

The maidservant looked confused, then pointed to Amalie.

"Was?! Du hast das Kind nicht entbunden? Dummes Mädchen, geh zur Seite!" /What?! You did not get the child out? Move aside stupid girl!/ Vogel hastened to Amalie's side, and lifted her dress. Her abdomen was large, swollen, and discolored. The child was still inside her. But Vogel knew there was a chance he could save it.

He felt at her belly. The child's head was near the top. Vogel knew that was wrong, the head was supposed to be the other way. Well, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was saving the child.

Vogel drew out his leather wrapping. Unfolding it, he selected one of the knives. Then, placing his bare hand against Amalie's belly, he cut into the womb.

He set the knife aside, and pulled back the skin. Blood was smeared all over his hands. But through the body fat and womb lining he could see the child. _There's its shoulder_. He reached further in and pulled the child out. It was a boy. And he wasn't breathing. The baby's face had started to turn purple.

Vogel held him upside down and swatted his back. No response. He swatted again. Still nothing. But on his third swat he was rewarded with the sounds of coughing, and then the room was filled with the screams and wails of a crying infant.

Picking up his knife again, he cut the cord. Then he snatched a towel from the wide-eyed maidservant and cleaned the baby off a little, before handing the infant to the girl for her to finish. Tenderly, she wiped him down, and then tucked him into a clean cloth. The baby was still wailing. Vogel wiped off his knife on his shirt, and returned it to his leather pouch.

He took the newborn from the girl's arms, preparing to present it to the father.

The girl whispered, eyes to the floor, "Meine Herren. Gnädige Frau bat bevor sie starb, das sollte es ein Junge sein, das es Josef getauft warden sollte." /Doctor. Madam said before she died…if it's a boy, to name him Josef./

Vogel nodded, "Ich werde den Wunsch weiter geben. Raüme den Raum auf und bereite den Leichnam für die Beerdigung for." /I'll see to it. Clean up this room, and prepare the body for burial./ He left the birth and now death room.

Again déjà vu overwhelmed him as he stepped into the hallway. Friedrich rose anxiously from the bench, just as he had four years ago. The Duke moved forward.

"Ein Junge?" /A boy?/ _Just as four years ago_.

This time Vogel nodded, "Ja. Ein Junge." /Yes. A boy./

Friedrich clapped his hands with delight, and took the baby from Vogel's arms. He tickled the baby underneath his chin, causing him to gurgle. "Ein Erbe letztendlich!" /An heir at last!/ He looked back up at Vogel, "Und meine Frau? Meine Amalie…?" /And my wife? My Amalie…?/

Vogel shook his head, "Sie hat nicht bis die Geburt geleben. Sie hat ausgeblutet. Entschuldigung." /She did not live through the birth. She bled to death. I'm sorry./

Friedrich's looked at him, full of disbelief. "Tot? Nein…Nein…" /Dead? No…no…/

"Mein beileid, Mein Herr. Bevor Gnädige Frau starb, bat sie das Kind Josef zu taufen." /I'm sorry, your grace. Before she died, your wife named the child Josef./

"Josef…" Friedrich looked down at the baby, and then back at the Doctor, "Ein gutter Name, richtig?" /A good name, no?/

"Ein sehr gutter Name. Es tut mir Leid, dass ich nichts für Ihre Frau tün konnte." /A very good name. I am sorry. I could do nothing for your wife./

Friedrich wasn't listening to him, he was looking down at his child, "Er sieht aus wie sie. Seine Haare, seine Augen, sind gleich" /He looks like her. His hair, his eyes, they are the same./

"Seine Haarfarbe könnte sich mit Alter ändern." /His hair can change color with age./

"Das wird ihm nicht passieren. Er wird seines Leben blond sein, wie seine Mutter. Wie meine Amalia." /It will not happen with him. I know. He'll be fair all of his life. Like his mother. Like my Amalie./ Friedrich wiped away a tear.

Elisabeth was tugging on her father's pants, not liking being ignored for so long. "Vatie, Vatie, will auch sehen" /Dada! Dada! Wanna see!/

Friedrich smiled sadly down at her, "Alles für meine Tochter." /Anything for my daughter./ He kneeled carefully on the floor, and showed Elisabeth her new little brother. "Elisabeth, darf ich Dir deinen Bruder Josef vorstellen… Josef Gabriel Konstantin." /Elisabeth, meet your brother, Josef…Josef Gabriel Konstantin./

Vogel left quietly. He wasn't needed anymore. Downstairs in the manor's great hall, he took his now dry cloak from the servant-girl, and returned once more to the nasty weather outside. This time though, he had a warm bed to look forward to at the end of his journey, not a dead woman.

So it was that in the year of our Lord 1599, Josef Konstantin entered the world, born from a dead womb.

_Finis_

* * *

I beg for reviews--Please let me know if you liked it or not!


	2. Normalcy

Hello everyone!

Thanks so much to my reviewers! You guys made my weekend—your response to the Prologue is just overwhelming. Thank you so much to everyone. You guys are doing wonders for my ego. Really, thank you! So here's the next chapter…I hope it lives up to the first one.

A few author notes. (hopefully these will become shorter and shorter as the story progresses.)

#1: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: This story takes place a year after the epilogue to 'The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship.' (Or three years after Beth was turned.) So to sum up the situation at the end of TBOABF for those who haven't read that story, Beth and Mick got together, and were happy. Beth decided she wanted to remain with Mick for eternity and so she asked Josef to turn her. Josef agreed. So Josef is Beth's sire, and Mick proposed to Beth, so now they are married. If you'd like to read the entire thing, (it's 45 chapters long) just go visit my profile page. The link to the story is there. Some chapters towards the end of TBOABF contain hints of things that will be appearing in this story later on.

#2: My take on vampires is that biologically they still function as humans (sort of.) So this means they breathe and have heartbeats, and need to pee. lol. However, breathing isn't necessary, but they must consciously hold their breath. And alcohol affects them; they just have to drink a lot more of it to get drunk than a human would, and no nasty side effects like hangovers and liver damage.

And a HUGE thanks to PNWgal who read over this for me, and saved me from the embarrassment of a few really bad typos. I so appreciate you looking over the chapter for me PNWgal! Thank you so much.

As always, please Enjoy.

_Normalcy_

_Los Angeles: Present Day_

Mick's hand locked down upon Josef's arm, immobilizing it. "Now, Beth!" he shouted with laughter.

Josef's breath left him in a rush as the sword plunged through his abdomen. A burning white fire spread outward from the wound, and he cried out in pain, sinking to his knees. Mick released his arm and took a step back, surprise splashed across his face. Josef's own fencing rapier clattered to the deck as he dropped it to clutch at his side.

"Oh, _Josef!_ I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Beth wailed, as she pulled her sword quickly from Josef's stomach. The action left Josef on his hands and knees. Beth's face was horrorstricken.

Between gasps for air, he glared up at her. "You…are _such_…a cheater…" He heard Mick chuckle behind him, and shot another glare directed against his best friend. Mick just gave him a shrug and a half-smile.

Beth and Mick had come over to his house for the evening. They had said they hadn't seen him in a while, and had demanded that he remain home, instead of going in to work. Josef had agreed, he had just closed a fairly prosperous contract and could afford to miss a day. Besides, he had realized his friends were right—he hadn't seen them lately. It would be nice to spend an evening relaxing instead of going over paperwork.

Over drinks (scotch and blood for the men, and just some O positive for Beth), Josef and Mick had teased Beth, reminiscing about her days as a newly turned, while Beth alternatively had glared at them, and flushed with embarrassment. Trying to switch the topic, Beth had asked Mick about what he had done for a living before being turned. She had realized that she didn't actually know much about Mick's life as a human.

Mick's answer that he had been a struggling musician had led to a conversation discussing the two men's hidden talents that they had accumulated over their years as vampires, and Mick had outed Josef as a master fencer. Beth had exclaimed that she had always wanted to learn to fence, and had begged Josef to give her a lesson. Eventually, Josef had given in. He could hardly deny his fledgling anything. When Beth had been human, she had managed to get under his skin as precious few other mortals had, and her ability to do so had carried over in her turning.

They had gone outside to Josef's deck. Josef had handed Beth a sword, and she had been surprised to see that the tip was sharp, not capped for protection. She had pointed it out to Josef, a bit of worry present in her voice.

Josef had laughed. "Beth, you're a vampire now, remember? If I stab or scratch you, all that will happen is that it'll hurt for a bit before healing." Josef grinned wickedly at her, as Beth blushed.

The two had started to fence, with Mick watching in mild interest and acting as cheerleader for his wife. Josef, a believer in a practical teaching method of 'learning as you go,' simply corrected Beth's mistakes as she tried desperately to block his attacks. She was pretty dismal at defense, and by the end of ten minutes, her face and arms were covered with angry red marks—recently healed scratches that Josef had landed on her.

The fight paused momentarily, as Josef gave Beth a chance to catch her breath. He looked at his fledgling with no effort to hide his amusement. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing hard. He raised a brow, and asked, "Do you want to stop?"

Instantly, a determined expression settled over her face. "No. I want to score a point on you."

Mick laughed softly, "You should have known better than to ask that, Josef. Beth doesn't give up easily."

"A fact I realized years ago, Mick," Josef responded. Beth's stubbornness and determination were two qualities of hers that Josef most admired. At the same time, they were often also the most infuriating.

They had continued to fence, Beth doing no better than before. Josef wasn't surprised. Fencing was a skill that took time to master—it couldn't be picked up in a single evening. Beth was trying her hardest, but Josef hardly had to exert any effort at all to keep the upper hand.

Mick watched the match, and especially Beth, with growing fascination. He had known for some time now that Josef could fence. Mick had found it amusing that Beth had done essentially the same thing he had done upon learning this fact about the elder vampire—challenge him to a duel. Josef had quickly shown Mick what he was showing Beth now—that fencing is much more than just flashy moves and swinging a sword around. Mick hadn't been interested in mastering the skill after his first match with Josef, but Beth…Mick could see a fire sparking in her eyes. He had a feeling she would continue.

As the fight dragged on, Mick could sense Beth's growing frustration at not being able to land a hit, and that's when the idea came to him.

Taking his time, so that Josef wouldn't pay too much attention to his change in position, Mick glided around the two fencers until he was standing behind Josef. He winked at Beth from behind Josef's shoulder, and saw that Beth understood. In a flash, Mick had grabbed Josef's sword arm, immobilizing it momentarily—Josef was unable to defend himself long enough for Beth to score a point.

However, Mick hadn't been expecting Beth to run his friend through, and judging by the look on Beth's face, neither had she. She looked absolutely horrified that she had just stabbed her sire. _Pretty deep too,_ Mick judged from the line of blood on the sword. He had released Josef as his friend had fallen to the deck.

Now, Mick chuckled at Josef's accusations of Beth being a cheater. He knelt by his friend's side to examine the wound. "It wasn't Beth's idea, Josef. It was my fault. I wanted revenge for our match forty years ago. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. I remember I kicked your ass at fencing, and sent you crawling home with your tail between your legs." Josef was still glaring at him, but Mick could tell that Josef wasn't as furious as he made out to be, just in pain.

Mick looked at the wound. He probed a finger around the edge, and Josef hissed. The injury had only partway closed. Mick rose from the deck, Josef just needed a bit more blood in him to let his body heal the gash completely. "I'll get you some AB negative."

"Thanks," Josef panted. He was still clutching at his stomach, trying to stop the flow of blood that was quickly soaking into his shirt.

As Mick went inside to fetch a tall glass of AB negative for his friend, Beth helped Josef rise from the deck. He leaned on her for support as he made his way over to one of the lounge chairs his freshies enjoyed using to work on their tans in the late afternoon LA sun. He gratefully sank down into the chair.

Beth hovered over him, eyes wide at the sight of so much blood, and silver with worry and fright. "Josef, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stab you. I just wanted to give you a nick, so I could wipe that smug expression off your face. I didn't realize the sword would go through so easily."

Josef snorted, and then winced as a burning throb shot through his abdomen from the movement. "Beth, it takes less than a pound of pressure to pierce human, or vampire, flesh."

Beth wrung her hands. "I just got over-excited. Forgive me?"

Josef sighed. He wasn't mad—after all, there was no real harm done. He'd been fine once he had some blood. But his shirt…_My shirt will never recover,_ he thought ruefully. He looked at Beth, "Buy me a new shirt, and I guess I can forgive you, all right?"

A look of relief washed over Beth's face. "All right. Thanks, Josef."

"Don't thank me. This shirt was expensive, and one of my favorites to boot. You owe me."

Mick returned with the glass of blood, cutting off Beth's response. Josef took the glass with a slightly shaking hand, but as he drained the glass, his hand steadied and the wound gradually closed. Beth watched, relief on her face at seeing the injury heal. By the time the glass was empty, the only sign that Josef had been stabbed was the blood smeared on his abdomen and soaked into his shirt. He ran his tongue over his lips, catching the last few drops of blood, and then rose to his feet with all his usual grace.

He looked down at his chest and shirt in exasperation. "I'm going to go shower," he said, pulling his shirt off over his head. His smooth muscles gleamed in the moonlight.

Mick nodded and the three headed inside from the deck. "We should be going anyways. I've got some files I need to look over for a case." He collected Beth's coat, and assisted her in pulling it on.

She smiled at him, "Such a gentleman."

He gave her a quick kiss, "Always."

Josef rolled his eyes. As Mick pulled on his duster, Beth stepped over to her sire and gave him a small, one-armed hug, being careful to not get any of his blood on her clothes. "I want another fencing lesson, so we'll see you again soon," she whispered in his ear. "I'm really sorry for stabbing you."

Josef smiled at her. "It's not the first time I've been stabbed, Beth. If you really want to learn how to fence, I'm more than willing to teach you, as long as you promise no more shenanigans." He tweaked Beth's nose affectionately. "Take care, all right?" He gave her a small kiss on her forehead, much as a father would to his daughter.

He clapped Mick on the shoulder, who growled good-naturedly at him, "See you around, Josef."

Josef watched as Mick and Beth left, and then turned and headed upstairs to his bathroom to shower. Mick and Beth let themselves out through the front doors, and in a moment had slid into Mick's Mercedes and were backing down Josef's driveway, heading for home.

* * *

Beth was quiet for most of the drive. Mick knew she was feeling guilty about impaling Josef. As for himself, Mick found the entire incident hilarious. He'd known that Josef would be able to heal easily and the expression on the older vampire's face as Beth had run him through had been priceless. Mick would never forget it, and he would make sure that Josef never forgot it either. Josef could not have looked more shocked and startled than if someone had told him his company had gone bankrupt. Mick laughed quietly to himself, remembering.

Beth whipped her head around to look at him. "What? What's so funny?"

Mick grinned. "Just the look on Josef's face as you stabbed him…" It was the wrong thing to say.

Beth's eyes flashed silver and she snapped at him, "That's not funny, Mick. At all. What if I'd seriously hurt him?"

Mick understood her anger. Beth was Josef's fledgling after all, and as such, was fiercely protective of her sire, as Josef was of her. The bonds that had been forged between the two at Beth's turning three years ago demanded nothing less. It was only natural that Beth would be this upset—_she_ had been the cause of pain for her sire—to her, there was absolutely nothing funny about that, or about Josef being hurt in any way, especially by her hand.

Mick trampled down the small twinge of jealousy that rose in his chest before Beth could sense it. She was getting rather good at detecting and interpreting emotions and he didn't want her thinking he was jealous. It was just a biological response at seeing his mate worried and concerned over another man. Mick had long overcome his jealousy of Beth and Josef's relationship. Beth had made it perfectly clear to him that while she loved Josef as her sire and friend, Mick was her one true love and Josef could never replace his spot in her heart. Mick knew this was true, and he knew Beth was true to him, that her heart belonged to him, and so he got over his resentment. But biologically, his inner vampire couldn't help but become angry whenever Beth displayed loving emotions towards another man—even for so loyal and good a friend as Josef.

Mick dropped all traces amusement from his voice so as not to aggravate his wife further, and said to her, "Beth, don't beat yourself up over this. You saw Josef—he's perfectly fine. No harm done. You couldn't have seriously injured him even if you tried." As he finished his reassurance, he pulled into the parking garage at the bottom of their building. Beth had moved in with Mick when they married, since his apartment was already vampire-friendly.

He parked the car and turned in the driver's seat to face Beth. He placed his hand on top of hers, and began to rub the back of it softly with his thumb. Beth closed her eyes. Mick could tell she was still a little upset. He supposed it was only natural for Beth to react this strongly. She was still young in terms of vampire development and her attachment to Josef was very strong.

Mick brought his hand forward and brushed some stray locks of hair from Beth's face. "Come on. Let's go inside, Beth. I'm going to make you forget about Josef for a while."

Mick was pleased to see that his comment earned a reaction from his wife. Beth opened her eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Really? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Mick leaned forward, brushing his lips against Beth's cheek and down onto her neck. "You'll just have to wait and see," he murmured against her skin. He reveled in the sound of her sudden gasp for breath, and the increase of her heartbeat. He pulled away and exited the car, grinning to himself as he heard Beth's sound of annoyance and desire. In a flash, Beth followed suit, scrambling out of the Mercedes at vampire speed.

She caught up to him as he stepped through the opening doors of the elevator. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, kissing him hard on his mouth, shoving him back against the elevator's wall. Mick was constantly amazed by his wife's strength. It came from being Josef's turned—the sire's power was always reflected in the fledgling. Not that Mick minded in this case. His and Beth's lovemaking had definitely gone up a physical notch since her turning. He groaned with pleasure at the feeling of Beth's body pressed tight against him. Wrapping his arms around her, he deepened the kiss. _God, I love fledgling hormones…_Mick thought. It didn't take much to arouse Beth these days, due to the fact that all newly turned vampires craved sex. It was a duty to his wife that Mick was more than happy to fulfill.

Neither of them noticed that they had reached their floor until the elevator pinged and the doors opened. They stumbled out of the elevator, and Beth fumbled for the apartment key. She found it, as Mick began to plant a series of kisses down her neck and onto her collarbone. Mick pulled away for a second for her to unlock the door. She gasped, "Don't stop…" He slid his hands up underneath her shirt, and she moaned at his smooth touch.

They stepped into their home, Mick pushing the door shut with a kick from his foot. He still had his hands on Beth's chest, and she was pulling at her shirt, trying to get it off. Pausing for a moment, Mick helped her pull it up over her head, and then tossed it aside on the floor. He turned back to Beth, moving forward, pressing her back up against the support column in his living room. Beth writhed under him, eyes silver and fangs down. Mick knew his expression matched. Her movement against his body was quickly sending him over the edge. He breathed in short gasps as he thrust himself against her, pressing his leg down on top of hers so that his crotch straddled her thigh.

With a primal growl, Beth grabbed his shirt, and shredding it in half, tore it from his body. A moment later she had unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and had dropped his pants and underwear. Without breaking his rhythm, Mick stepped out of his clothes and kicked them away. His erection was long and hard and as Beth reached a hand down and began to stroke it, Mick couldn't wait anymore.

He practically ripped Beth's pants off. Her underwear was wet with her desire, and Mick threw the lace aside along with her bra. He grabbed Beth by the bottom and lifted her up, pressing her harder against the support column. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and rubbed herself against him. Mick gasped at the sensation of her skin on his.

In a smooth glide, he entered her. She moaned, long and deep, closing her eyes briefly. As Mick began to thrust, her eyes fluttered open and she bit down on his shoulder—hard. Her nails scratched at his chest, drawing blood and she arched up against him. Mick went wild with pleasure. He pumped into Beth harder and faster, feeling her muscles tighten around him. He heard animal noises of ecstasy and wasn't sure if they were coming from him or from Beth.

His hands were all over Beth's body as he drove himself deeper and deeper into her, pressing against her, filling her core with his desire. He let his allure roll off of him, encompassing Beth in a wave of heat and passion. A spasm tore through Beth's body and she cried out, plunging her fangs into Mick's neck, drinking desperately. Mick lowered his head, thrust one last time, and as his orgasm overtook him, plunged his fangs into Beth's breast. Her blood was spicy and rich with lust. He heard Beth screaming his name as she rode her own orgasm. Waves of heat raced through his body like electric shocks. He continued to thrust hard against Beth, as she bucked against him, mouth open in a silent shriek of pleasure. Mick lost all coherent thought as he surrendered to the high of the orgasm.

When his mind cleared, he still had Beth pushed up against the support column. He removed his fangs from her breast and licked at the wounds until they healed. Beth did the same on his neck, and they nuzzled each other, kissing and touching. Just being together. Their faces were inches apart, sweat dripped from their bodies, and their heavy breaths were the only sound in the room. Mick's smoldering eyes bore into Beth's. Hers were still silver blue, and she grinned impishly at him, showing a flash of fang. Her legs were trembling around his waist, and Mick slowly eased her down. She sighed into his shoulder, and starting kissing his chest as her feet touched the floor.

Mick scooped her up in his arms, and moved her to the couch. Beth pulled him down on top of her, and began to nip at his earlobe, while running her hands up and down his back muscles. Mick could already feel his arousal building again. His member was hard against Beth's leg. He lowered his head to Beth's chest, and starting sucking on her breast, teasing her nipple with his tongue. Beth whimpered and wriggled with want from his ministrations. She started pushing herself up against him, pressing her naked body as close to his as possible.

As he and Beth made love, Mick couldn't have been happier. Beth loved him and he loved her. Their bodies molded together, their hearts beat in sync and he surrendered himself to his wife's touch. Mick grinned—it was going to be a pleasurable night indeed.

_Finis_

* * *

and yup...i'm still a little embarrassed to post love scenes. Hopefully you guys liked it. It's possibly going to be the only Mick/Beth love scene in the story.

I'll post the next update when it's ready--whenever that may be.

_Please _review and let me know if you liked it or not! I grovel at my readers' feet for reviews. It's the only way I know if you're enjoying my story.


	3. Enemy From the Past

Hello readers! Episode 13 really inspired me to get writing again, so here is the next update.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last chapter. You guys' words always make me feel so happy. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Really, thank you.

Only one note with this chapter. (yay!) Josef's name: When dealing with humans and business and the mortal world, Josef uses the name 'Kostan.' But vampires know him by his true name 'Konstantin.'

Please forgive any typos. It's late as I post this, so I'll go through it again to look for typos tomorrow. I'm sure I've missed some.

Enjoy. **: D**

_Enemy From the Past  
_

Beth woke alone, around 3:30pm. She blinked, missing the feeling of Mick's body cuddled against her, as it usually was when she woke every evening. She wondered for a moment where he was, what had called him from their freezer early, before she remembered how he had told her about a client coming by for a late afternoon appointment. Beth strained her ears, and could just barely pick up the murmuring of voices coming from Mick's office downstairs. _Yup, Mick's with a client…_ She sighed and rolled over, not quite ready to face the day.

Tonight she had to go into Buzzwire for at least a few hours. She needed to wrap up a few loose ends of a story she had been covering for the past week or two. Mo had had her investigating a local drug smuggling ring and Beth had uncovered quite a bit on them. Mo had been thrilled with the dirt her ace reporter had managed to dig up. Now her boss wanted Beth to come in and give her last live report on the story.

Beth's work hours had shifted since she had become a vampire. As a human she had arrived at Buzzwire anywhere from early to mid-morning, but now, as a vampire, she usually didn't come in until around 5:00pm. She usually stayed till midnight, or later, before the night janitor crew reached the news floor. Of course, on evenings when there was a hot story to cover, the offices were buzzing with activity all night long. The hours worked well for Beth. She still slept most of the day, and at five o'clock, the setting sun wasn't too harsh heading to work.

Mo hadn't liked her new schedule at first, but she had come around. Beth had told her she could call her at any time during the night if a story came up—Beth believed that offer was what finally convinced Mo to accept her new hours. Crime happened mostly at night—Beth remembered from her days as a human having to drag herself out of bed on more than one occasion to go cover some grisly crime scene at two or three in the morning. But now that Maureen knew Beth was already awake, she had quickly made Beth her go-to reporter for breaking late night stories. It was a situation everyone loved—Beth, because it let her work the hours she wanted, Mo, because she didn't have to deal with tired, grumpy reporters, and the other reporters at Buzzwire, because they didn't have to get out of bed and go cover a murder at three in the morning.

Deciding that she had lounged long enough, Beth finally sat up, pushing open her half of the lid of the doublewide freezer she shared with her husband. She stretched her sore muscles, reluctant to leave the soothing air of her ice bed. Since her first fencing match with Josef two weeks ago, she had been returning to her sire's home a few nights a week for more lessons. Impressed that Beth was serious about mastering the skill, Josef was taking the time to teach her properly—which translated, meant drills. They practiced two hours every night, and the first hour and a half was spent only on drills—lunges and other basic fencing moves.

For the last half hour Josef would fence Beth. He used their matches as an opportunity to help hone Beth's vampiric speed and dexterity. It was quite the workout, trying to keep pace and defend herself from his attacks. Josef didn't handicap himself in any way, didn't hold anything back and Beth's muscles were stiff and aching as she burned them into better shape from struggling to maintain a proper defense. If she thought she had been fit before…She tumbled into the freezer after coming home each night, satisfied with her progress, but exhausted.

She could tell that Josef was enjoying himself as much as she was, if not more since he had already mastered the skill. Even though he grumbled over her mistakes, telling her she was hopeless, Beth sensed he was secretly glad to share this part of himself with his fledgling. As her sire, while Josef didn't need to see Beth the way Beth needed to see him, he was still bonded to her and his attachment to her was quite strong—strong enough that oftentimes they felt echoes of each other's emotions. It had been unsettling at first, but as time passed the intensity of that aspect of their bond was fading. When Beth had asked Josef about why it was weakening, he had told her it was because she was 'growing up,'—maturing as a vampire. He had said from now on, it would most likely be rare that Beth and he would share emotions through the sire/fledgling bond. He treated it as part of normal fledgling development, and had seemed pleased that Beth was on track, but deep down Beth had felt a little sad at losing the connection. It had made her feel closer to her sire.

Well, tonight she would be able to look forward to seeing Josef after work, for another fencing lesson. _Maybe I'll ask Mick if he wants to come with me…_She didn't want Mick to feel neglected from all the time she was spending out at Josef's. Mick had been busy with a case all this week, but last night he had wrapped it up—he was delivering his results to the client in his office right now. Thinking that she would ask him about joining her tonight, Beth climbed out of the freezer, and stretched for a moment, before heading off to the shower.

Half and hour later found Beth showered and dressed for the evening. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast. The door to Mick's office was slightly ajar, and she could hear him concluding business with his client.

"…I'm sorry what I've got for you isn't to your liking Mr. Colt, but you hired me to watch your wife, and this is what I found."

Beth could easily hear the anger in the client's voice, smell his outrage. Mick must have ousted an affair. Mr. Colt cursed his wife under his breath, unaware that Mick (and Beth) could hear with perfect clarity every word he said. Beth could make out the scratching of a pen on paper, and knew Mr. Colt must be writing Mick a check for her husband's services. A moment later she heard both men rise, and the office door open and shut as Mr. Colt's footsteps faded down the hall.

As Beth poured herself a glass of fresh blood, Mick sauntered into the kitchen. She smiled at him over the rim of her glass, and asked, "Another affair?" She took a sip of the O positive (her favorite flavor) and felt the rush of blood hit her system. She knew her eyes had bled to a deep red color. Sometimes Beth found her life surreal. _I can't believe I'm enjoying a glass of blood…Who'd have ever seen this coming five years ago?_ Beth smirked to herself at the thought. She certainly would have laughed at the suggestion of vampires back then, but so much had changed in the past few years. She had found the love of her life—and he just happened to be a vampire.

Mick pulled her into his arms, chuckling. "Actually, no. The husband _wanted_ me to find evidence of an affair so he could file for a divorce and take half of everything. Apparently he's married to an extremely wealthy, but very annoying, yet entirely faithful woman."

"Sucks to be him, huh?" Beth grinned and Mick's eyes sparkled. He released Beth to open the hidden fridge and pull out a packet of A positive.

Beth watched him pour about half the bag into a glass. Mick was still drinking morgue blood, although (much to Josef's glee) Beth had launched a campaign to get him back to drinking fresh. Slowly but surely she believed she was convincing him. At least, he had stopped outright flat refusal of the idea, something that Josef told her was a big step, and certainly more than he had been able to accomplish in thirty years. Beth was determined to get Mick off of the morgue blood. Drinking it every now and then wasn't a big deal, but Beth believed that continuously digesting it was unhealthy.

Josef had taught her not to be ashamed of her cravings for fresh human blood. He said there was absolutely nothing wrong with a vampire biting a human directly as long as they kept control, and Beth tended to agree. She embraced her inner vampiress. The rush she experienced during feedings where Josef provided her with male freshies was incredible. The blood tasted rich and delicious, flavored with the emotions of the donor. Out of respect for Mick, Beth didn't drink from her male donors when he was around, but Josef kept a few at his house for her, and they sent her freshly bottled blood for her to drink. Beth could hardly stand the taste of Mick's morgue supply. She couldn't understand how Mick had kept drinking it all this time.

Mick took a sip, and Beth thought she might have seen a little grimace cross his face. He certainly couldn't be enjoying the blood. Beth has a feeling one of these days Mick would cave and switch back over to fresh. She was drawn from her hopes by Mick's voice.

"So, do you have another lesson with Josef tonight?" There was something in his voice. With a start, Beth realized what it was—the faintest traces of jealously. _He definitely needs to come with me..._

She answered, keeping her voice neutral, not wanting Mick to know that she had sensed his envy, "Yeah. I'm going out to the mansion after work." She stepped in and wrapped her arms around Mick. She leaned her head on his chest, then tilted her face up and asked, "I was hoping you might want to come with me?"

Mick's smile told her that she had done the right thing in asking him to join her. When he responded there was no longer any trace of jealousy in his voice. "I'd love to tag along with you, Beth. Although, don't expect me to do any fencing."

Beth gave a small laugh, "Wouldn't dream of it." She cupped his cheek with her hand. She was still in his arms, leaning against his chest. "I'll come back here after work then, and we can head out together."

"Sounds great." Mick leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, before he let her go. "Have a good day at work, baby."

Beth blew him a kiss as she walked out the door, snatching her USB drive on the way out.

* * *

Josef woke up. It was twilight and he was hungry. He wanted breakfast. He pushed open the lid to his sleek, black freezer and sat up. He stretched lazily; yawning and baring his fangs, back muscles rippling. Should one of his freshies have been watching him now she would have thought his movements smooth and cat-like—A panther preparing for the day's hunt.

Easily pulling himself out of his freezer, he padded across his room to where his sky blue lounge pants were draped over a wooden hook hanging off the wall. His freezer room walls were of dark cherry wood, and underneath his feet was a deep blue—so dark blue it was nearly black—plush carpet. In the center of his room was his freezer, opaque for privacy, large enough to fit several people inside. A genuine Monet hung on one of the room walls. Unlike Mick and Beth, Josef didn't see the appeal of sleeping in a stainless steel room. That style was too modern for him; he preferred a warmer, more comforting atmosphere.

He pulled on his satin pajama bottoms, enjoying the feeling of the smooth material across his skin. He crossed his room, stepping through a door and into his master bedroom. This room was also paneled with dark wood, a dark cream-colored carpet upon the floor. He pulled on a silk dressing robe and headed downstairs to search out one of his girls.

He found Mona idly flicking through a magazine on the sofa in his living room. "Good evening, darling." His eyes were frosted blue. He could hear her heart beating, smell the rich blood in her veins.

Mona was one of his more experienced freshies. She was also one of his more beautiful. The last rays of the setting sun fell upon her face, highlighting her long, dark hair. She was dark-skinned, dark-eyed. Exotic. Upon hearing his greeting she turned to give him her full attention, setting the magazine aside. Her eyes smiled warmly up at him. "Hungry, Josef?"

"Famished." Josef said with a devilish smile, and sat down, pulling Mona onto his lap. He heard her heartbeat quicken and saw the rush of blood to her cheeks. He could scent her arousal and desire in the air. Josef always made sure his freshies got their end of the deal when he fed from them. He looked after his girls.

He ran the back of his hand softly over Mona's neck, and she leaned into his touch. Josef brushed her hair aside, and Mona arched her neck towards him, inviting him in. In a moment, he had sunk his fangs into the soft skin of her neck, hitting her vein with expert precision. Her blood flowed, warm and spicy into his mouth, and down his throat. Mona gave a whimper of pleasure as his enthrallment swept over her. Her hands clutched at Josef's shoulder, twisting in the silky material of his robe.

When Josef was satisfied he pulled out, licking at the bite marks to close them, lapping at the few drops of blood that ran down Mona's neck. Mona sighed as she came down from the feeding high. She opened her eyes and smiled at Josef. "How did I taste?"

"Delicious as always, my dear." Josef deposited her gently back onto the sofa. "I didn't take too much, but you should rest for a while. I'll have one of the other girls bring you some orange juice."

"Thanks…" Mona curled up on the sofa, eyes drooping.

Josef turned to the door, intending to go upstairs to dress for work, when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out, glancing at the number. He didn't recognize it. That fact alone surprised him, and he felt a tendril of anxiety snake its way through his chest. Who could have gotten their hands on his private cell phone number?

Curious, he answered, his voice brisk and to the point, "Josef Kostan." _Better to use my human name in case it's a human calling…_

"Hello, Josef."

Josef stiffened at the voice. He could sense Mona behind him—he knew she had registered the sudden change in his body language. He could feel her eyes on him, and sense her worry. Mona already knew something was wrong.

"How did you get this number?" he breathed in an angry hiss. He began to pace back and forth.

The voice that answered him was just as he always remembered it to be, smug and superior, laced with condescending. "That's not your biggest concern right now. Do you know where I am, little brother?"

Josef felt his heart freeze. An icy feeling settled in his stomach. The oh-so-familiar voice continued to taunt him. "Take a look outside, Josef. Leave that beautiful woman who you were just feeding on for a minute and come see if you can catch me."

Josef came to a complete standstill in the center of the room. The voice continued, mocking him infuriatingly, "Oh yes, I can see you. Do you see me?"

Josef looked outside, and was startled to see a shadow at the foot of the hill that made up part of his property. There was no mistaking the tall silhouette, and the broad shoulders. "Lucius!" Josef shouted into the phone.

Over the line came Lucius's voice, "I shall be revenged Josef. I have waited, and now it's time for you to pay." Lucius's shadow vanished from sight.

Josef bolted outside, and began racing towards where the shadow had stood. His property reeked of the odor of Lucius's power—he was challenging Josef, the equivalent of a wolf marking its territory. Josef wouldn't stand for it. His vision was red with barely controlled rage.

He heard Lucius say over the phone, "This is going to be so much fun, _little brother._" The line went dead.

By the time Josef reached the spot where Lucius had stood, his enemy was long gone. Josef followed the path of the scent, racing after it, around the side of his home, heading towards his driveway. He heard a car screeching in the distance and put on an extra burst of speed, but he was too late. He reached the end of the drive only to see taillights flash around the corner at the far end of the street. Lucius had escaped him, _Again. Not again._ Josef thought with a crushing sense of helplessness.

He turned back to his house, deciding against immediate pursuit. Mona was standing in the doorframe, clutching at it to combat the dizziness from the blood loss. Her eyes were wide at the expression on Josef's face. "Josef? What is it? Who was that? Who's Lucius?" she questioned as he strode past her.

Josef snapped at her harder than he meant to, "Lucius is none of your business." Mona flinched, clearly startled and frightened by his tone. Josef had never spoken to her that way before. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, and Mona visibly relaxed somewhat. "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave the mansion for a while, darling. You and all the other girls." Josef remembered all too well the last time an unfriendly vampire had shown up on his doorstep. Damien Fay had been over a thousand years old, and had murdered all of his freshies. His girls had never stood a chance. Josef wasn't going to give Lucius the opportunity to repeat history. He had promised the girls he would protect them while under his services.

Mona's face was shocked. She struggled to keep pace with Josef as he strode through his home, looking for his head of security. "Leave? All of us? Why? How…how will you eat?"

Josef was touched that with everything that was happening she was worried about him. He waved a hand dismissively, "I'll survive, Mona. I'll ask you girls to donate before you leave for the safe house." He called out for his head of security—a vampire by the name of James Redmond.

"The safe house?" Mona's voice wavered. Her fear was starting to choke the air.

As James came racing up the hall to him, he turned to Mona. He said soothingly, "Don't be scared, darling. But understand that if you stay here, you'll be in danger. Only Jim and I know the location of the safe house—I don't want to have to worry about Lucius coming after you and the others."

"But _who_ is Lucius? I don't understand."

Josef stopped his frantic stride, and turned Mona's face towards him, making sure she understood how serious he was. "Lucius is my oldest enemy, my dear, and he will not hesitate to kill those associated with me. But you don't have to be scared, Mona, all right? I'll look after you. Go, find the other girls, and tell them to wait for me downstairs in the living room. I'll speak to you all in a little while."

Josef turned to Redmond, as Mona moved off down the hallway to go find the other six or so girls who permanently lived at the mansion. Despite his reassurances that he would protect her, the freshie still gave off agitated vibes. She was still scared. _Probably more at my behavior than what's going on,_ Josef thought with a sigh. He hadn't handled the situation very well, but Lucius's call had thrown him for a loop. James was watching him worriedly, wondering what was wrong.

Josef began to bark out orders for Redmond to secure the mansion and prepare to leave with the freshies. "Take all of security with you, I want those girls protected. _No one_ gets to them."

"_All_ of security? But sir, what about yourself?"

"I don't want anyone here at the house but me. This is personal. Do you understand?" Josef's eyes bore into Redmond's. His head of security could see glimpses of a dark anger boiling beneath the surface of the brown irises.

"Yes sir."

Josef dismissed James, and the vampire hastened off to start carrying out Josef's orders. Josef hurried upstairs to his room to dress. He would need to speak to the freshies downstairs first, reassure them that they wouldn't be in any danger and that their absence was only temporary until he sorted this out. _And Beth…I need to call Beth and tell her not to come tonight._ Thinking of his fledgling, Josef's gut twisted with fear and panic. He would not let Beth come here and place herself in danger. _Or Mick. Lucius would jump at the chance to hurt them to get to me…_

Josef entered his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and started to dress. He was breathing hard and his hands were trembling so badly, he could hardly button his shirt. "_Goddamnit!__"_ He finally gave up, and sat on the edge of his bed, his shirt hanging open. Lucius's phone call had shaken him worse than he cared to admit. Memories of their last encounter flashed through his mind.

_Lucius leaned over him, blood dripping from his jaw to splash against Josef's face. Reaching down, he grabbed Josef's hand, snapping two fingers as though they were nothing more than twigs. Josef screamed, but the stake sunk in his chest prevented him from even writhing in pain…_

Josef breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm himself. Eventually his heartbeat settled and his hands stopped shaking. He rose and buttoned his shirt. He looked out his bedroom window, down at the spot where Lucius had been standing not half an hour ago.

Lucius was back—after a hundred years of silence. _Fuck,_ Josef thought. _Just, fuck._

_Finis_


	4. Childhood: part I

Hello everyone! I've gritted my teeth and worked through this chapter, and now it is ready to post. (thanks for the virtual chocolate **delicate flower**. It helped. These early chapters are really difficult to write, because I'm trying to be sure that I'm setting up all the story's groundwork properly. It's a rather long plot, and I need to make sure everything is falling into place early on, so I don't write myself into a corner later.)

So I've got a bunch of author notes for you.

1st: I'm writing this story trying to make it as historically accurate as possible. That said, I can't possibly get everything correct. If you'd like to point out to me what I've got wrong, **_please do so in a Private Message._** I tried to make the language sound a bit old-fashioned, but I don't think I succeeded very well, so please be forgiving.

2nd: The Viscount of Hereford Robert Devereux was an actual person, a noble of England, whose father was executed for treason. Eventually Devereux was reinstated with his father's title as the Viscount. I smudge history by reinstating him sooner than he actually was.

3rd: Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 70 in March 1603. So she would be alive during the time Konstantin is in England, (Jan, 1603). However, towards the end of her life as her friends died, Elizabeth became depressed and sickly, and stopped making public appearances for the most part. But for the sake of my story, I have her make a 'rare' appearance at court.

4th: London in 1603. London, to be frank, was disgusting. There were no sewer systems yet, and so people emptied their chamber pots by dumping them out the windows onto the street. Yeah, very nasty! London was a crowded, dirty city. Also, English refer to the second story of a house, as the first story. The floor that sits on the street, is the ground floor, the one above that the first story, and the one above that the second, etc…

5th: Bess was a common nickname or shortening for Elisabeth during the time.

6th: This chapter is inspired by Josef's line in the Ringer, where Mick asks him what he remembers from when he was four, and Josef responds, "It was 1603, Mick. I think it's reasonable that it's a little hazy." Well, this is my take on Josef at age 4. There's a nod to NeteleJala's one-shot _Tech Savvy._ Kudos to you if you can spot it.

7th: I would like to give all credit for historical research to my good friend and roomie NeteleJala, who graciously looks up all the historical details and research for me, and reads through my chapters for historical accuracy. Without her help, there is no way I could write this fic. So thank you very much NeteleJala! You rock!

Thank you to all my readers as well for your comments! I'm excited to see your reactions to this chapter.

Please forgive any typos. I apologize for any bad ones. As usual I'll be reading through this again and again throughout the week to fix any I may find.

Enjoy!

_Childhood (__part I)_

_--London--1603--_

The yard behind the Viscount of Hereford's townhouse was muddy from yesterday's rain shower. But Lucius didn't care about the mud—it wasn't like his clothes were in pristine condition anyways. He wore brown breeches that came up a bit short on the ankle, and a white, roughly patched shirt. The clothes were stained in places, and a bit dusty with dirt already, so what did it matter to him if a smidge more mud from the yard got on them? He wasn't allowed in the nice rooms of the house, so it didn't really matter.

Lucius was regulated mostly to the kitchen, assisting Nancy, the cook, though occasionally he would be told to scrub floors in other parts of the home. He would always scrub as slowly as possible, so as to maximize the time spent away from Nancy. Nancy was a large woman, with a short temper and little patience. Lucius had lost count years ago the number of times she had taken the wooden paddle used for baking bread to his backside. Her beatings were severe, and were doled out with little warning, causing Lucius to live in terror of doing something to set her off. He hated Nancy with a passion. He often wished he was big enough to grab the wood paddle from her and beat her with it until she bled—_See how she likes it…_

Lucius's life was a haze of scrubbing floors, fetching barrels from the cellar, running errands, delivering messages and any other grinding task Nancy could come up with. When they were at the Viscount's estate in the countryside, life was a bit better. Lucius worked out in the stables, away from Nancy. But for the six months spent in London each year, the days rolled into each other in a seemingly endless, mind-numbing train, broken up only by the beatings. It was only January—Lucius would have to endure another two months before the Viscount moved his household back to his country estate.

But right now, Lucius had stumbled upon a rare time where he could do what he pleased. Nancy was busy talking with Thomas and Anne and she hadn't given him any task to do. So the ten-year-old boy was crouched down on the bottom step out back behind the kitchen dangling a little white mouse he had caught earlier that week by its tail in front of a stray tabby. Lucius had been thinking of releasing it in the kitchen to scare Nancy, (the woman hated rodents) but right now he found tormenting the mouse and cat much more fun.

He would dangle the little mouse in front of the cat, and when the tabby moved to snatch it from him, Lucius would jerk it back. However, sometimes he was too slow and by now the little mouse's white fur was streaked and matted with the animal's blood. The mouse's ear was torn off, and the little thing wriggled and squeaked pitifully as Lucius continued to dangle it in front of the cat. Lucius reveled in the feeling of power he held over the mouse. He held its fate in his hands, he alone would decide whether the mouse would live or die, and he loved that power.

He continued to taunt the cat as he listened to the servants talking in the kitchen, their voices drifting down to him through the open window.

Thomas, the head manservant, was speaking. Lucius hated him. Thomas was always cuffing him on the back of the head, telling him to work harder. "…Anne, you and Sarah will need to air out the upstairs bedding, dust, and polish the silver. The master wants the house ready and spotless for the Duke's arrival."

"Yes, Thomas." The voice that answered was meek and quiet—Anne's voice. Lucius tuned out the conversation. They were talking about the Duke's imminent arrival again. Lucius was bored hearing about it, Thomas had already given him his instructions—_"Keep your mouth shut, and stay out of the Duke's sight as much as possible."_

Apparently, the Viscount had received a letter today from the Duke of Selesia expressing the Duke's wishes to visit his old acquaintance in London, in order to conduct some sort of business with the Viscount, (Lucius hadn't yet been able to figure out what this business was, but he was aching to discover it. Anne seemed to know, but (to his ever increasing frustration) had yet to tell him), and to introduce his young son to court life and politics. The letter had said the Duke would be arriving in London two days from now, which had sent the servants into a flurry, preparing the townhouse for the Duke's arrival—Lucius was happy, his regular chores had been interrupted and he enjoyed the change of pace. He found himself wondering about the Duke's son, daydreaming about what it would be like to grow up in luxury, instead of servant-hood. _I wager he's spoiled rotten…_

His musings were interrupted by a sharp blow on the back of his head, and a high-pitched, nails-on-chalkboard voice in his ear. _Nancy._ Thomas had finished his instructions and Nancy had found him.

"Put that rat down, and get inside boy!"

"It's not a rat, it's a mouse," Lucius responded in a surly tone. All his comment earned was another cuff to his head. It was so hard he saw black spots in his vision.

"Don't you sass me!" Nancy snapped. "Get rid of it, and come inside. The carrots need washing and chopping." She turned and stalked back inside the kitchen.

Lucius looked at the little mouse, savoring the moment of power. Should he kill it, or let it live? The mouse was still wriggling feebly, if Lucius let it go when the tabby wasn't around it would probably live…Lucius stared at the mouse. _Why should I be kind to it? No one has ever been kind to me…_ He tossed the mouse to the tabby cat, and dragging his feet, entered the kitchen. With a resigned sigh he rolled up his sleeves, and began to scrub the dust and dirt of the cellar off the carrots Nancy had left sitting on the table.

* * *

By the end of the day Lucius had washed enough vegetables to make him sick of the smell of carrots. He had scrubbed the entire upstairs story of the house, and had endured another beating from Nancy when he had accidentally dropped one of the fresh loafs of bread on the floor. Night had fallen quite a while ago, and he was exhausted. He wanted to go home.

Lucius didn't actually live in the Viscount's house in the city. When the Viscount was residing in London, Lucius stayed with his mother. It was through his mother that Lucius worked for Sir Devereux in the first place. She had been one of the Viscount's maidservants for many years, before her health had prevented her from working. She had begged Devereux to give her position to her son, and so it was that at the tender age of six Lucius went to work for Devereux's estate. His meager wages he gave to his mother, he kept nothing for himself. When he was in town his mother looked after him, and when the Viscount was residing in the country, Lucius stayed in the servants' quarters. His mother couldn't go with him to the country, but Lucius still sent his wages to her. If he didn't, he knew she would starve. He loved his mother very much, and had sworn to take care of her.

He finished sweeping the last of the dirt tracked across the stones of the kitchen floor, and then wandered out of the kitchen to find Nancy to see if he could leave. She was probably gossiping with the other maidservants again. Sure enough, Lucius rounded the corner in the hall and picked up Nancy's shrill voice and Sarah's. Sarah was speaking about the Duke. _Of course,_ Lucius thought with a sigh. He was about to make his presence known, when he heard what Sarah was saying—they were discussing the reason for the Duke's visit. Curious, Lucius listened in.

"…Catherine will make a perfect match for his son. I don't see how the Duke will think otherwise. Emma tells me all the time, what a dear Catherine is to take care of. Never was a sweeter baby. I'm sure the Duke will love to match her with his son, Emma swears that's the reason for his visit."

Nancy's voice sounded skeptical, "Well, we'll see. Catherine may be sweet, but sweet ain't always enough. But if he's bringing his son with him, then it must be to set a marriage. The mistress will be pleased…her newborn daughter, already married off to a duke's son! Sir Devereux would be foolish to refuse if Konstantin makes a proposal."

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, when Lucius, unfortunately, sneezed. Instantly both women turned around. Nancy's eyes flashed as she bore down on the boy. "What do you think you're doing, standing around? Didn't I tell you to sweep the kitchen?" She grabbed him roughly by the arm and started dragging him back towards the kitchen.

Lucius struggled, "Missus Nancy, I already swept the kitchen. I finished. Can I go home?"

"Already swept the kitchen. Ha! We'll just go down and have a look and see." Nancy's tone was sharp and disbelieving.

But when she inspected the kitchen it was obvious by the look of anger on her face that she could find no fault with the job Lucius had done. She released his arm. "Well, it's nice to know you're not a total waste. Go home them, boy. And be back here tomorrow before sunrise, or else I'll tan your backside a new one."

"I know when to get here Missus Nancy." Lucius said angrily.

Nancy snorted and turned to go back to the hall and her conversation with Sarah. In the doorway she paused, and glanced back over her shoulder at Lucius, "If I ever catch you listenin in when you shouldn't be again, I'll see to it that you'll no longer work here. You're not to spread around what you heard. Understand?" she hissed. Lucius nodded, eyes wide. He couldn't lose his position in the Viscount's house, he and his mother would quickly starve.

Nancy left the kitchen. Lucius stuck his tongue out at her back, and then hurried to the door. Pausing for a moment, he slipped off the nice shoes the Viscount had purchased for all his servants, and pulled on the worn leather wrappings that he wore in the city streets. He grabbed his cap from the kitchen peg, and raced out, free for the night.

The streets of London were narrow, winding, and dark. The narrow and winding parts weren't so bad, but Lucius hated the dark. It made it so much more difficult to avoid stepping in the human waste that made the streets filthy. The farther he walked from the Viscount's townhouse, the worse the conditions of the roughly cobbled streets became. Beggars sat in doorways, and stray dogs roamed the alleys, their ribs showing beneath their fur. An upstairs window opened, and the Lucius caught the fresh stench of excrement as someone dumped the contents of his chamber pot onto the street below.

Lucius walked carefully—the leather wrappings didn't do too much against protecting his feet against the sludge on the streets. The last time he had stepped in something foul, it had soaked into the leather. The smell was only just beginning to fade. He made his way through the boroughs, through the twisted streets until he came to a stop outside of a old, rickety building. A faded sign hung above the door, which simply said _Rooms_. Shingles were falling off the roof, and the shutter over the downstairs window was hanging on its hinges. Rats were scurrying around the doorway. Lucius kicked them aside as he entered. They swarmed back into place as soon as he had passed through.

He moved across the moldy living room, shivering against the blast of cold air that blew in from the window. He made his way up the creaking staircase, to the first story of the house. Lucius always felt like the stairs were about to give way beneath his weight as the wood was so rotten. But the stairs had held so far, and the other boarders moved up and down them, without giving them a second glance. Still, they made Lucius nervous.

He pushed open the door to his mother's room in the house, and stepped inside.

The room was tiny and cramped. A single oak bed frame, a little wooden table and even smaller three-legged stool were the only furniture in the room. Lucius took off his shoes and cap, placing them on the table so the rats wouldn't chew on them during the night. His mother was in bed, but awake, and she watched him with tender eyes.

"It's so late Lucius. What kept you so long?"

Lucius crawled into bed next to his mother, underneath the blanket, and curled up against her side for warmth. His mother had stuffed rags into the cracks around the shutters over the window, but the icy cold January air still crept into the room. He answered sleepily, "They kept me longer to scrub the upstairs floors. A duke is coming, to arrange a marriage between his son and Catherine." His mother already knew Catherine was the Viscount's daughter. Lucius kept her up to date on everything that happened in the household.

Lucius heard his mother stifle a cough and felt a pang deep in his heart. He didn't say anything, it wouldn't change anything…he knew that his mother was dying. He snuggled deeper into her arms as she said, "A duke? Really?" Her voice took on a nostalgic quality, "I remember a time when I still worked for Devereux, a young duke came and stayed for quite a few weeks. Do you know his name or where he is from?"

Lucius murmured, "It's Konstantin, he's from Selesia." He felt his mother stiffen, but was too worn out from the day's work to wonder why. He fell asleep, but his mother stayed awake for a long time, eyes wide, face drained of all color, clutching her little boy to her in the dark and suppressing her coughs.

* * *

_Two days later…_

"Stop fidgeting Josef." Friedrich's voice was stern and cold, and he eyed his squirming son sitting across from him in the carriage with disapproval.

"Yes, Papa." Josef stilled instantly, his soft brown eyes staring up at his father's face. Friedrich looked away. His son's eyes were too much like Amalie's, and even four years after her death Friedrich still did not like to hold his son's gaze for long.

A chuckle came next to him from the Viscount. "I see you've got the boy well brought up. Good, good. A son should respect his father."

Friedrich was glad the Viscount approved of Josef. They were on their way to Richmond Palace to visit Elizabeth's court. Friedrich had arrived at the Viscount's townhouse early in the morning, and had spent the day discussing the futures of their children with Devereux. He had seen Catherine, and thought her to be a suitable match for Josef. _She'll bring some wealth and respectability to the duchy…and they are close in age…_Josef had also seen Catherine, peering over the edge of the crib nervously, but Friedrich knew his son was too young to understand what was going on. By the late afternoon, Friedrich and Devereux had come to an agreement, a dowry was settled upon, and the match made. Each came away feeling they had gotten the better end of the deal, and the atmosphere in the townhouse was friendly.

Now, Konstantin, the Viscount, Devereux's wife, and Josef were going to Elizabeth's court. Friedrich wanted to introduce Josef to court life at a young age, so that he would grow up naturally comfortable with it. To be honest, Friedrich was anxious about his son. Josef was a quiet child, very different from the other noble boys in the duchy who were loud and boisterous. Friedrich already knew his son was keenly intelligent. Even at four years old, Josef was already asking questions about the world around him. Friedrich had overheard the nursemaid complaining once, _"…If I have to listen to another 'Why is this' question, I'm going to go mad." _

Josef spent most of his time following his sister around the castle. He was extremely devoted to Elisabeth, and would do anything his sister asked. Friedrich knew his son was going through a hard time this year, as he had started tutoring with the masters in Selesia, and his time with Elisabeth had been reduced dramatically as he had to devote more hours to learning his lessons. Josef learned quickly— he already was practically fluent in English. Friedrich had many hopes for his son, and today he was going to have Josef take his first steps into court life, and into the role his son would eventually fill as a nobleman himself.

The carriage pulled up to the palace, and a moment later the footman was opening the door. The Viscount of Hereford alighted first, turning around to offer a hand to his wife. Friedrich couldn't help the twinge of envy that rose in his chest at watching the Viscount with his wife. She was a very beautiful woman, slender and willowy, with dark hair and blue eyes. Devereux whispered something in her ear as she stepped down from the carriage and Friedrich heard her laugh, "Oh Robert…"

Friedrich turned to Josef, "Come along son."

"Yes, Papa." Josef scrambled out of the carriage after his father. Out of the corner of his eye Friedrich saw Josef scratch at the lace ruffles in his shirt collar. He indulged his son for a moment, and then reached out and stilled Josef's hand.

"No more scratching, Josef."

He thought he might have heard a small huff from Josef, and his son opened his mouth to ask 'Why not' no doubt, but at the stern look upon his father's face, Josef shut his mouth, and nodded meekly. It was clear he was having a miserable time.

"Cheer up son. You're going to meet a queen."

Josef didn't seem much excited, but followed his father up to the palace entrance, eyes wide as they approached the doors.

Devereux tossed a comment back to Friedrich, from where he walked ahead of them, his wife's hand on his. "You know, her Majesty might not be in attendance tonight. She's been rather ill as of late."

Friedrich shrugged. It didn't matter to him if her Majesty was in attendance of the court today or not. Josef needed to be introduced to society. He stepped through the palace doors and into the great hall, bringing Josef along with him and his footman following at a discreet distance. It was time for his son's education to begin.

* * *

It turned out that the Viscount of Hereford was wrong. Queen Elizabeth was in attendance of court. Devereux had been surprised, and had whispered to the Duke that her Majesty hardly ever made a public appearance at court anymore. Friedrich could see why. The Queen of England hardly looked like the most powerful woman of the age. No, indeed. She looked old and frail. Sickly.

The Viscount's party was brought before where she was seated at the head of the room, and the Herald announced them, "Presenting to your Majesty the fourth Viscount of Hereford, the third Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux and his wife, and their guest Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin, Duke of Selesia, and his son." Friedrich bowed respectfully.

As Friedrich straightened, his eyes met the Queen's and he felt his breath catch. The powerful sharp mind behind the gaze of the woman who ruled the country was still there, her force of personality still present in her aged body. _I stand before a mighty woman,_ Friedrich thought, humbled. The Queen nodded her head at their introduction, and their party moved to the side as other visiting dignitaries were presented to her. Friedrich was too preoccupied with observing the rest of the court to notice Josef sneak in another scratch at the ruffles nor did he see the small smile that briefly graced Elizabeth's face upon watching Josef's actions, before turning her attention back to her Herald's introductions.

The palace room where court was held was immense and luxurious. Burning torches lined the walls, and a large fire pit with bright flames roared away in the center of the room. Silks and elegantly detailed tapestries hung from the walls and ceiling. Entertainers roamed the room, some performing for the Queen directly, as the nobility mingled with each other. Everyone was dressed in the latest fashion, with high collars and ruffs, capes and long gowns, hats with elegant feathers or jewels. The room was noisy with conversation and laughter. And presiding over it all was Queen Elizabeth. Friedrich kept glancing at her throughout the evening. She seemed to him to be very bored by the scene in front of her. Depressed even.

She wasn't the only one bored with the court. Friedrich felt a mixture of amusement and annoyance when he looked at his son. Josef was obviously struggling to stay awake. He had obediently followed at his father's side as Konstantin had mingled with the nobles, and had pleased Friedrich greatly with his manners. He knew his son was inquisitive by nature, and had probably wanted to ask a thousand and one questions, but not one word had come out of Josef all night long, except when he was directly addressed. And then his speech had been most polite. If he didn't understand he looked to his father for clarification. But most of the nobility only addressed themselves to Friedrich, and Josef's curious nature had grown extremely bored long ago.

Now his son was appearing to have reached his limit for the evening. It was growing late and the talk of politics was obviously making Josef sleepy. Friedrich decided it was enough of an introduction to court life for his son, and signaled to his footman to have the Viscount's carriage brought around. With a small bow his servant left to alert the stables.

Friedrich wove his way through the nobles of the English court until he found Devereux. The Viscount fortunately was not already engaged in conversation, and the Duke clapped him on the shoulder. "Robert, I think I've had my fill of court tonight. I'm taking Josef home."

Devereux laughed, "Little ruffian bored with court life already? Not promising, Konstantin." He winked at Friedrich. "My carriage is, of course, available to you. My wife and I will remain for now."

"I will instruct the coachman to return for you. Good night, Robert." Friedrich again clapped Devereux on the shoulder and made his exit with Josef as the Viscount turned back to the room.

They stepped out of Richmond, and Friedrich took a moment to glance behind him at the spires and towers of the palace. The richness of the English court put his own to shame, but it was to be expected. After all, he was only the ruler of a small duchy. Elizabeth was queen of England. _But not for much longer, or I should be very surprised. She is approaching the end I believe…that was not a woman in good health._

The carriage pulled up, and the footman quickly stepped down, opening the door for Friedrich, and then at a gesture from the Duke, hurried to Josef, who had been struggling to keep up with his father's fast strides. The footman scooped Josef up in his arms, and placed him gently inside on the carriage's cushioned seat. The servant shut the door, and swung into place on the small step behind the back wheel, as the coachman whipped the horses into a quick trot and the carriage started away from the palace.

Friedrich put a hand on his son's shoulder, rousing him, "What did you think, Josef?"

Josef blinked sleepily up at his father, "Wasn't very fun, Papa. When're we gonna go home? I miss Bess." Elisabeth hadn't come with them to England—a fact that had upset Josef a great deal when he learned he'd be going a prolonged amount of time without her company. Friedrich knew he missed her terribly.

Friedrich chuckled at Josef's complaints, dismissing them. "We'll be remaining in England for at least a month son, so you'll just have to toughen it out. It's time you started learning about life at court."

"S'dull, not very fun." Josef slurred sleepily.

Friedrich smiled, and ruffled his son's hair fondly. For only being four years old Josef had done remarkably well, and had held up much longer than Friedrich had been expecting. He could tell Josef was rapidly fading though, the gentle rocking of the carriage lulling to the child, but he asked one more question.

"What did you think of the queen son?"

Josef mumbled, "Scary."

Friedrich was still laughing as the carriage pulled up in front of the townhouse. The footman opened the door and Friedrich stepped out. "Bring my son inside and have one of the maidservants put him to bed. You and Davis get a bite to eat and then return to Richmond to wait upon the Viscount and his wife."

The footman bowed respectfully, "At once, sir." Friedrich entered the house as behind him the servant reached into the carriage to pluck Josef from the seat and carry his son inside to be delivered to bed. Friedrich entered the library. He had some letters of business he needed to write. He thought over the day. It had been very productive. He had arranged Josef's marriage successfully, and for that he was pleased. It was a smart match, and Catherine would bring much wealth to Selesia. It had been a productive day indeed.

* * *

"Mother, Mother you shouldn't be out of bed!" Tears streaked down Lucius's cheeks as he followed his mother through the streets of London, towards the Viscount's house. He was frightened. He had never seen his mother act this way before.

Lucius had returned home that night, and told his mother that the Duke Konstantin had arrived today. To his shock, he mother had struggled to her feet, wrapped a tattered shawl around her shoulders, taken Lucius by his hand, and had hurried from the boarding house with all possible speed. Coughs wracked her thin frame, but she didn't slow down. She sped down the streets as a woman possessed, towards the Viscount's house, and Lucius didn't understand why. All he understood was that this journey would kill what little health his mother had left.

_What's going on?_ Lucius clung to his mother's hand as she pulled him along after her. They were nearly to the Viscount's home. Lucius began to panic. What would his mother do at the house? Lucius would get in trouble, he just knew it. His mother was supposed to stay away from the house once she became sick. She coughed again, and Lucius saw the dark smear of blood on her hand before she wiped it away on the underside of her dress's hem.

As they rounded the corner, Lucius saw the Viscount's carriage pull away from the townhouse. Relief flooded through him—at least the Viscount was gone. Now if only Lucius could get his mother to calm down…

No avail. His mother marched up the steps to the townhouse, tucking Lucius behind her, and pounded on the door. She pounded away with all the force left in her frail body, until it swung quickly open. Peeking out from behind his mother's arm, Lucius cringed to see Thomas's angry face.

"Jenny, what in the name of the lord are you doing here? Go home, you're not welcome at this house." Thomas moved to shut the door, but Lucius's mother shoved it back with a strength that shocked Lucius, and obviously Thomas as well, from the look on his face. His mother forced her way into the hallway.

"Jenny, stop this instant. Remove yourself, woman!"

Jenny's words tumbled from her mouth in a rush. "Thomas, I must speak with the Duke. I must speak with him."

Thomas burst out laughing. "Impossible. You'll certainly do no so such thing. Now go home, Jenny, before you disgrace the Viscount."

Jenny raised her voice, shouting, "No! I'll not leave till I've spoken with him." She began to cry as Thomas manhandled her to the door, and she struggled against his grip. "Let me go! Let me speak with him!"

"Go home, Jenny!"

Lucius stood, paralyzed with fear, shrinking against the wall, silently crying. His mother's shouts were desperate and pleading, and he felt sick to his stomach.

And then Lucius heard a deep voice cut across the noise and confusion in the hall. "What is going on down here?"

* * *

Friedrich stood in the doorway to his son's room. Josef was sleeping soundly in the bed, the light from the candle that had been lit in the hallway spilling across the covering, and illuminating his son's peaceful face.

Friedrich watched him, feeling again the mixture and love and hatred for his son that he felt whenever he looked at him. _If only he didn't resemble her so, it would be easier. _Amalie's features were strong in Josef. His eyes were exactly the same as his mother's. And Friedrich had been right—Josef's hair hadn't darkened with age. It was still as blond and fair as the day Vogel had presented his son to him. The narrow cheekbones, and the slender frame were also characteristic of his Amalie. It hurt to look at his son—every time he did he was reminded of the love he had lost.

Friedrich had distanced himself from his children. He let the nursemaids raise and look after them while he attended to business in the Duchy. Elisabeth had been hurt at first by her father's sudden detachment, but as the years passed she forgot their former closeness, and her affections had reaffirmed themselves to Josef. The bond between his children was very strong. They were always in each other's company, laughing and playing together.

But for Josef, those times were coming to an end. He was Friedrich's heir, and it was time for him to start understanding what that meant.

Friedrich lingered in the doorway. He often would gaze upon his son as he slept, allowing his affection to show on his face when he knew the boy was asleep. Tonight, Josef had made Friedrich proud. He had behaved perfectly at the court. Friedrich was pleased.

Quietly he entered the room, and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, then leaned down, and placed a quick kiss upon Josef's forehead. Straightening, he smoothed a strand of hair back from the child's face, looking down on him. His heart ached. Friedrich left, shutting the door to the bedroom behind him, returning to the library to work. Josef slept on.

It was some 15 minutes later that shouting from the hallway pulled Friedrich from his thoughts. He glanced at the door, extremely irritated. Neither voice sounded like the Viscount. Who the hell was shouting? _What the hell is going on?!_

He rose from the desk, setting his quill aside, and strode from the room and down the stairs into the hall. He was shocked by the scene in front of him. A young boy was pressed against the wall, crying, as Devereux's head servant was attempting to throw a woman out into the street. But the woman was stubborn and was putting up a good fight, shouting, "I must speak with him Thomas! _I must!_"

_Enough of this,_ Friedrich thought. He spoke in a loud, commanding voice, cutting across sharply the din in the hallway. "What is going on down here?"

* * *

The noise died instantly at the sound of the stern voice. Lucius looked around. At the bottom of the staircase stood a man who could only be the Duke. He was dressed in tight breeches, and a jerkin, wearing polished leather boots. His hair was dark, and a trimmed beard added an element of dignity to his face. His eyes were glittering with anger at the scene before him. "Thomas, what is the meaning of this commotion?"

Thomas's face was flaming red, and he didn't dare to meet the Duke's gaze. "I deeply apologize your Grace, for disturbing you. I was just showing this woman to the door."

The Duke stepped further into the room, and his eyes swept over Lucius's mother. Lucius saw something spark in Konstantin's face, _Recognition_…and the Duke's steps faltered ever so briefly…_He knows my Mother!_

The Duke moved swiftly forward, pulling Jenny from Thomas's grasp. "I shall deal with this, Thomas. You may go."

Thomas's face showed his surprise. His mouth hung open and he stared at the Duke, making no movement until Konstantin snapped, "You are dismissed." Thomas shut his mouth quickly, spun on his heel and promptly made himself scarce down the hallway.

The Duke turned to Lucius's mother and (to Lucius's shock) addressed her by name, hissing, "Jenny, what in the blazes are you doing here? What's wrong?"

Jenny trembled, but she held her head high, and met the Duke's gaze. "I'm dying, Friedrich." Lucius saw the Duke's expression soften a bit. _He lets my Mother address him by name. Why? Why?!_

The Duke opened his mouth to say something, but Jenny cut him off, "I'm dying, and before I go, Friedrich, I have someone you need to meet."

Konstantin's brow furrowed, "Who could you possibly introduce me to?"

Jenny took a deep breath, "Your son." And with those words Lucius's mother pulled him forward from the shadows of the wall. Lucius stared into the stunned face of the Duke, and knew his own expression was just as surprised.

_The Duke is my father?!_

_Finis_

* * *

I beg and grovel for reviews! Please let me know what you think. **: )**


	5. Childhood: part II

Hello everyone! At last I have another update ready for you. I know it's been something like three weeks, but this update was 15 pages—so it's nice and long to make up for the wait.

I've got only a few author notes: 1st—I AM NOT A DOG HATER! NeteleJala read this chapter, got to the ending scenes and said 'How could you?!' I would like you all to know that while I am a cat person, I still love dogs very much, and the scene I wrote gave me no pleasure. You'll see when you read it. I apologize to all dog lovers out there, but remember, that this is a fictional dog, and please know that I would NEVER treat a dog like this. Okay? NeteleJala's comments got me scared enough to think that you guys are going to think I'm some kind of dog-hater. I'm not. I love dogs. But be warned, there is a very sad dog-beating scene in this chapter.

2nd: Lucius's thoughts on how his life is going to be. Please remember that these are just his thoughts on how he _thinks_ it's going to be, not necessarily how it is going to play out in his 'real life.' It's just Lucius's foolish dreaming and fantasizing.

3rd: The water in London was too filthy for human consumption. Ale was what people drank, even children.

4th: If you see any of this is the chapter, 'i' and '/i' they're not supposed to be there. They're commands to make my words italics at the other sites where I post this story. I think I got em all, but it's late, so I may have missed a few. My apologies if so.

One more author's note, a warning…Be prepared. I think I made little Josef adorably cute in this chapter. He's still four years old, and we're still in London.

Thank you so much to everyone who left me such great feedback and reviews to my last chapter! Really, you readers make it so much fun to write for you all. I am so happy that you are enjoying the story. I hope I continue to deliver. Hugs to all my readers!

Okay, onto the story! Please forgive typos. Feel free to let me know if you spot a bad one. I appreciate it.

Enjoy!

_Childhood, part II_

Friedrich's mind was reeling. _This can't be my son. It's not possible. No._ He opened his mouth to protest, but Jenny said softly, "Just look at him, Friedrich. You know I speak truly."

Friedrich paused, and took a good look at the boy. Jenny was right. The child in front of him reflected too many of his features—the boy had his chin and jaw line, the same broadness of shoulders—the more Friedrich took in the appearance of the child, the more of himself he saw in him. There could be no mistaking it once pointed out—Lucius was his son. _He's my son…_

Friedrich gave an agitated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He reached out and pulled Jenny a short ways down the hall with him, into the Viscount's study, hissing at her in a quick whisper, "We shall speak in privacy." The boy followed them. Friedrich realized he didn't even know the child's name. He felt disjointed, off-center. His thoughts tumbled and spun about in his mind. _How could this have happened?_ Friedrich snorted to himself as he shut the door to the study and turned around to face Jenny. He knew exactly how it had happened, he could remember perfectly…Two years before he married Amalie…Back when Robert's father had still been the Viscount, Friedrich had visited his friend at the family's estate in the country…Over the summer…

_"I say Robert, how can you be a Viscount's son and not understand how to handle a stallion? You, my friend, are a disgrace to nobles everywhere," Friedrich laughed as he and Devereux made their way through the front doors of the estate, into the foyer and the great hall._

_Robert grumbled under his breath. Friedrich cupped his hand up next to his ear, "Sorry, I didn't quite hear you, Robert."_

"_I said, it wasn't my fault that that bloody rabbit jumped out when it did and spooked Kingsfoil. That horse is a bloody coward." Robert glared and Friedrich laughed again. His friend had been thrown from his horse when Kingsfoil had startled. That in itself wasn't so humiliating—even the best of horsemen were sometimes thrown—no, what was burning Robert and bringing no small amount of glee to Friedrich was that his friend had landed in a particularly muddy patch in the field. Robert was absolutely splattered with mud, and Friedrich had taken great delight in ribbing him all the way back to the manor's stables._

_Robert stormed off towards his rooms to clean himself up, calling out over his shoulder, "I'll see you at supper."_

_Friedrich chuckled quietly to himself as he turned and made his way upstairs, and down the hall towards his bedchamber. He had a letter he wished to pursue in the privacy of his room, not in the manor's library with Robert's father peering over his shoulder. The curtain was drawn back from the window, allowing soft, afternoon sunlight to filter into the room as Friedrich stepped inside, shutting the door behind him._

_The room was large and comfortable. A small, stone fireplace made up one wall, and there was a pair of long, glass windows on the wall opposite. A canopy bed was the centerpiece of the chamber, surrounded by thick, sheepskin rugs. An old, oak desk had been neatly placed into the corner near the windows so that when Friedrich sat at the space he could see out onto the Viscount's grounds for miles._

_Friedrich crossed the room, pulling off his riding boots and stockings, leaving them in an untidy pile close to the foot of the bed. He sat down at the desk and opened his letter, eyes darting eagerly across the pages, reading the news of the duchy._

_But he was only halfway through the correspondence when he was startled by the sudden noise of the door to his chamber opening. Friedrich jerked his gaze away from his letter, irritated, ready to scold whoever had interrupted him, but his voice died in his throat. Standing in the doorway was one of the Viscount's many servant girls, and the sight of her stole Friedrich's breath away. For someone of humble position, she was a rare jewel. Her skin was fair and pale. There was a delicateness about her face, her mouth small, but her lips full and red. Her eyes were the deepest blue Friedrich had ever seen, and they sparkled with depth and secret promises._

_Currently her expression was one of horror. Her face had blanched at the sight of the Duke. She looked absolutely terrified to find the room occupied and she instantly began to back out hastily, stammering an apology, "Excuse me, sir. My apologies for disturbing you. I did not realize there was anyone inside. I'll return to freshen the room another time."_

_Friedrich did not want this beauty to go. Her appearance captivated him, and he had no desire to let her leave so quickly after discovering her. He interrupted her apology, waving a hand dismissively, "No, no. It's all right. Enter and go about your duties. You need fear no rebuke from I."_

_The maidservant paused, obviously unsure if she should take Friedrich's words at face value. Friedrich smiled warmly at her, "I assure you, it is quite all right. Enter and go about your duties."_

_It seemed to be enough reassurance for the girl. She dropped a quick curtsey, and then bustled into the room and began to straighten it up. At first Friedrich tried to return to his letter, but he found his gaze drawn again and again to the maidservant. She went about her chores with a simple grace in her step, humming to herself quietly under her breath. Friedrich watched her openly, utterly fascinated by this young woman. His letter lay forgotten on the desk, and he found himself wishing to hear her speak again._

_"What's your name girl?"_

_She paused from straightening the linens on the bed to answer meekly, "I'm called Jenny, sir."_

_"Jenny." Friedrich rolled the name over his tongue. It suited her. A simple name for a simple beauty. Friedrich knew what he wanted. He rose from the desk, and moved silently across the room to stand behind Jenny as she fidgeted nervously with the bed linens. He heard her breath hitch as she registered his proximity to her body._

_Friedrich leaned in close and murmured in her ear, "Tell me, Jenny. Are you satisfied working for the Viscount?" Slowly, he reached a hand down to her face, turning her gently by the chin to look upon him directly._

_Jenny stared up at him, eyes wide. She didn't answer him, and Friedrich ran his thumb softly over her cheek, asking his question again. This time Jenny gave the barest of nods._

_Friedrich smiled down at her. "Good, good. And tell me Jenny, do you usually tidy the rooms at this time of day?"_

_Again another nod. Friedrich could hear her breath, ragged with desire. Friedrich cupped her face in his strong hands, " Do you want me to stop?"_

_A whisper, "No."_

_It was all the permission Friedrich needed. He brought his mouth down on Jenny's, crushing his lips against hers. Jenny moaned, the sound rippling through Friedrich's body, leaving a trail of pleasure in its wake. Friedrich couldn't restrain himself. He lifted Jenny and laid her on the bed…_

_…Later he marveled at how soft she felt nestled against him. He tugged her close, and played with the locks of her long, brown hair until she rose to dress and return to her duties, a small blush gracing her cheek._

_From that time on, Friedrich had his way with her whenever she came to tidy his chamber in the afternoon…_

Now he looked at the woman in front of him. The years had not been kind to her. Her skin was still pale, but it was a sickly pale, and her face was pinched and drawn with illness and worry. Her cheekbones were clearly visible—she had become skin and bones, far from the soft woman Friedrich could recall. And her eyes…It was her eyes that had changed the most. They no longer sparkled as Friedrich remembered. They were dull, dimmed with fatigue and resignation. No, the years had not been kind to Jenny at all. She was a wisp of the woman in Friedrich's memories.

Friedrich crossed the room softly to her, and tilted her face up to look him in the eye. He felt the boy stiffen next to him as he touched his mother, but the child didn't say anything. Friedrich met Jenny's gaze, "What do you want Jenny? Why are you doing this?"

Jenny whispered, "I want you to take Lucius with you, when you leave England."

Friedrich sensed a sudden stiffening in the boy, and realized that the boy was just as surprised by everything that was happening as he was. _Jenny called him Lucius…_

Jenny was still speaking, her words sounding a little harsh and bitter, "He's your son, Friedrich. You cannot cast him aside as you did me all those years ago. I don't want him to be alone in this world when I leave it. You have an obligation to him—he is of your blood. I want you to take him with you when you leave England."

Friedrich arched an eyebrow, choosing to ignore her bitterness. "You want me to take him back to Selesia?"

Jenny nodded. Her eyes may have been dulled with exhaustion, but they gleamed with a fierce determination nevertheless. "_Yes,_" she said forcefully. "When you leave England, he is to go with you, he is to…he is to—" A cough wracked her body, followed quickly by another one.

Friedrich stepped backwards, a small expression of nervous disgust crossing his face as he watched Jenny cough and cough. He caught sight of blood on her hand, and he felt pity for the woman. He considered her request. Jenny told him he had an obligation to her child, but Friedrich didn't see it that way. He had never even known of the boy's existence before tonight. He was not obligated to do anything for Jenny. He was a duke, and she was a maidservant. He had wanted her over that summer long ago, and had left her behind when he was finished. He felt not the slightest bit of shame over his treatment of her. It was the natural order of things.

Lucius was hovering by his mother's side. Friedrich watched curiously as the boy guided his mother to sit in a chair, rubbing his hands along her back, trying to ease her coughing. He clearly loved his mother very much. Friedrich studied the child. Lucius was already tall and muscular for his age. There was intelligence behind the youth's eyes, and a spark of determination that shone through the worry and confusion and fright on his face. Friedrich found himself mulling over the idea of taking the boy with him. The boy obviously could earn his keep…Friedrich made up his mind.

Jenny's coughs were starting to subside at last. She took a few, deep, shaky breaths, and looked up at Friedrich, opening her mouth, obviously intending to push forth her request again.

Friedrich held up a placating hand, silencing her. "Enough, Jenny. I'll take the boy with me when I return home."

Jenny's eyes shone with relief. Tears welled up, and she again opened her mouth to say something, but she only managed to get out, "_Thank-you._ You don't know what thi—" before she was once again prevented from speaking, this time by the door to the study opening.

Robert walked inside, coming up short at the scene in front of him. He seemed flustered for a moment at seeing Jenny sitting in his study, her son—his servant boy—standing anxiously at her side. But he was even more surprised to see Friedrich with them. He turned to his friend, arching an eyebrow. "What business is this, Konstantin?"

If Friedrich had been startled or embarrassed to be found talking with Jenny he didn't show it. His voice was as smooth and authoritative as always when he answered Robert. "I've taken an interest in your servant here, Robert—this boy. I'd like to take him back to Selesia with me when I leave England, and was discussing the proposition with his mother."

Robert was even more intrigued, "Back to Selesia with you? Whatever for? How can he possibly serve you? I'm sure you have plenty of servants already."

Friedrich nodded, doing some quick thinking. "True. But I wish to employ him as a companion for my son."

Robert guffawed, "A companion? Isn't he a little old for Josef? I can hardly imagine they'd be suitable for each other."

Again Friedrich came up with a quick answer, "It is true that he is a bit old, but when I said companion, I'm afraid you mistook my meaning Robert. I don't intend him to be a playmate. Lucius is a native speaker of English—who better than to help Josef learn the tongue? I would have Lucius help my son master the language, that among _other_ things." Friedrich didn't say what the 'other' things were, but he knew Robert would pick up on what he was implying. While the practice of having a whipping boy was starting to die out, many members of the upper class still took advantage of it.

Robert was apparently coming around to Friedrich's reasons. "I see…" he mulled.

Friedrich clapped him on the shoulder, "Come, Robert. What say you? You can have this servant replaced in an instant. I've taken an interest in the boy, I won't return to Selesia without him."

Robert shrugged, "Why the hell not? All right, Friedrich, he's yours. God knows what possessed you to want him in your household, but I can stand to lose him. Now, it's rather late, and if you don't mind…"

Friedrich nodded, and he turned and swept from the study. Jenny meekly followed with Lucius at her side. Jenny walked to the front door ahead of the two noblemen. At the door she paused. She turned to look up at Friedrich, but with the Viscount standing there, she didn't dare say anything untoward. Friedrich stared down at her expectantly, and after a slight hesitation, Jenny forced herself to bow to the Duke. She murmured, "Thank you, your Grace."

Friedrich waved his hand dismissively, playing cool indifference. He didn't notice the angry flush that rose in Lucius's cheeks. Jenny curtsied to the Viscount and turned, stepping through the front door. Lucius made to follow her, but Friedrich reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of his collar. "Oh no you don't, boy. From now on you'll be staying here. You'll start your new duties tomorrow."

Lucius's face was surprised. He flinched as the front door shut, cutting him off from his mother and the cold London night. The sound echoed through the foyer with a dreadful finality. Friedrich hauled him off down the hallway, calling for Thomas. When Robert's head servant appeared, Friedrich handed Lucius off to him, stating simply, "Find him a place to sleep."

"At once, sir."

As Thomas took Lucius away, leading the boy to the kitchens, Friedrich watched, being careful to maintain an air of detached indifference towards the boy in Robert's presence. No one knew the truth of the boy's paternity except him and Jenny, and it was imperative for it to remain that way.

Once Lucius had disappeared around the corner, Friedrich turned to the Viscount. "Well, it certainly has been a day. Good night Robert."

"Good night."

The two nobles parted company. Friedrich returned upstairs. On his way down the hall to his chamber he paused outside Josef's room. Quietly he pushed the door open to once more check on his son. Josef was still sleeping peacefully, having heard nothing of the activity downstairs. He had no idea how his life's routines were about to change. Friedrich shut the door again, and continued to his room.

He thought over the night's events as he prepared for bed. Why had he agreed to Jenny's demands? He wasn't entirely sure, but something about that boy had sparked an emotion somewhere deep inside Friedrich. Lucius was his son, and though Friedrich could never publicly acknowledge their relation, he found that privately he liked very much the fact that Lucius was his. The boy seemed strong and able—Friedrich hoped he would have an effect on Josef's quiet personality. Lucius would return with him and Josef to Selesia, and Friedrich would at last have a son who didn't remind him of Amalie every time he looked upon him.

Friedrich snuffed the candle. Tomorrow Lucius would begin his new life…

* * *

A rough shake on his shoulder accompanied by Nancy's shrill voice greeted Lucius's thoughts early the next morning. "Wake up boy!"

Lucius blinked his eyes open to see Nancy and Anne standing over him. Thomas had taken him to the kitchen last night, where he had left Lucius to sleep on a cot in the corner. Lucius had lain awake for over an hour in the dark kitchen, wide eyes staring up at the ceiling, heart pounding nervously. It was so strange to be away from his mother…he hadn't even gotten to say good-bye…And now Lucius had so many things he needed to ask her. _Why did she never tell me? Will I even be able to see her again? _Lucius could hardly believe that the events of last night were real. Only the fact that he had woken up in the Viscount's house instead of next to his mother as usual, let him know that he had, in fact, not dreamt the entire evening.

He groaned now, in the morning. The sun was only just barely rising. "It's too early," he whined, and tried to roll over on the cot.

Nancy would have none of it. With a quick tug, she yanked Lucius's blanket off, exposing him to the cold air of the kitchen. She snapped, "Up! I've got work to do, and don't need you taking up my time any more than you will be. Get undressed and then once you're finished with Anne come over near the fire."

Lucius nodded, slightly bewildered. He wasn't sure what was going on exactly. He started to undress, and in a moment was standing completely naked in the freezing kitchen. His teeth chattered and he rubbed his arms for warmth. He knew Nancy had started a fire already—he wished it would hurry up and start warming the kitchen.

Anne swooped down on him, and Lucius flinched away. But there was no escaping her. She hemmed and hawed to herself as she examined Lucius, straightening out his arms, noting his height, estimating his measurements. When she had what she needed, she turned from him, pulled her shawl around her shoulders, pointed him across the kitchen, and left the house at a brisk walk.

Lucius looked to where she had steered him. There was a large, wooden, circular vat sitting near the fireplace. Lucius recognized it was one of the tubs that Sarah used for washing the linens occasionally.

Shivering, he crossed the cold stones of the kitchen to where Nancy was heating a large pot of water. Without looking at him, she pointed to the tub, "In."

Lucius looked into the tub, it was filled with water. Suddenly Lucius understood. He was getting a bath! He had never had one before in his life. His mother would take a wet cloth to his body every now and then to scrub off the worst of the dirt, and he had swam in the ponds and rivers on the Viscount's estate in the country, but neither of those counted as an actual bath.

Excited, Lucius climbed in, only to give a little shout. The water was ice cold. It was _freezing_. Nancy shook her finger at him, "Hush up. There's soap in there, use it." Lucius felt around the bottom of the tub, until his hands came across a soft bar of soap. He scrubbed it over himself as Nancy removed the water she had been heating from the fire.

She turned to him, and made a disapproving noise. Rolling up her sleeves, she took the soap from him and began to scrub viciously at his back and hair. Lucius twisted underneath her administrations, and she admonished him, "Sit still!" She seemed to make her scrubbing as hard and vicious as possible, her eyes gleamed with angry resentment. At first Lucius was confused by her mood, but gradually he began to understand as he heard her muttering to herself under her breath as she cleaned him, "…I slave away for years, but do I get rewarded? No. But the Duke takes one look at this brat, and suddenly it's 'The boy needs to be bathed.' 'The boy needs new clothes.' Companion to a duke's son, humph!" Her last comment was accompanied by a particularly hard scrub with the soap, causing Lucius to cry out.

"Stow it boy. You've got nothin to complain about." Nancy slapped him upside the back of his head, and put the soap down. She picked up the pot of warm water, and dumped it over Lucius's head. The warmth of the water felt wonderful and passed over him all too quickly. Nancy took him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Out!" she snapped. She tossed him a large cloth to dry himself with. She pointed to the bench in the kitchen. "Dry yourself off, and wait for Anne to return with your clothes. Here's your breakfast." She thumped down a bit of bread and a mug of ale on the table she used for chopping.

Lucius dried himself quickly, and then draped the blanket from his cot over his shoulders. He grabbed the bread and ale and sat down on the bench, wondering how long it was going to take Anne to get back. He hoped it would be soon. He felt exposed—the threadbare blanket didn't do much to hide his nakedness. He looked around for his old clothes but they were gone, even the leather wrappings he had used as shoes. He supposed, in a kind of wonderment, that Nancy had probably burnt them.

Nancy had dragged the wooden tub outside to empty it. Lucius sat alone in the kitchen. The morning's activities had taken quite a while, and the sun had long ago completely risen in the sky. Lucius munched on his bread, his thoughts turning back to his mother. He wondered what she was doing right now. Again he questioned why she had never told him about his father. _Why did I never ask?_ Lucius had never really worried about his father before. With all the work in his life, it just didn't seem to matter that much. He had assumed his father was dead. _I'm the son of a duke!_

"Warum bist du nackt?" a voice asked from his right.

Lucius jumped, startled from his thoughts, the blanket slipping from his shoulders. Hastily, he pulled it back up, and turned to see who had snuck up on him. To his surprise, his eyes fell upon a young boy. _He can't be more than four or five years old…_ The child had fair, blond hair, and brown eyes that were looking at Lucius with friendly curiosity. Lucius wasn't in the mood to be friendly. Angry that so small a child had managed to startle him, he snapped, "What?"

The child's brow furrowed, and he repeated his question, "Warum bist du nackt?"

Lucius felt color rising in his cheeks. The tone of the child's voice made it obvious that the boy thought his question easy enough to understand. Lucius hated feeling stupid. He ground out through gritted teeth, "I don't understand that language. Say it in English." Lucius hoped now that it would be the little boy's turn to feel confused. It would relieve some of his embarrassment. However, to his surprise, the child answered.

"Oh. Why are you naked?" This time the question was accompanied with a small giggle.

Lucius felt even more blood rush to his cheeks. He didn't know why he was so embarrassed, but he felt burning with humiliation. He wrapped the blanket tight around himself, and glared down at the boy. "None of your business!" The boy finally seemed to pick up on Lucius's discomfort and anger because he shrank back a little. _Good,_ Lucius thought.

But much to Lucius's dismay, the little boy didn't seem too intimidated for long. He pulled himself up onto the bench next to Lucius and settled himself beside the older boy. He looked at the bit of bread that Lucius still had left to eat, "Can I have some?"

"No." To emphasize his point, Lucius took a bite and chewed and swallowed. He hoped the child would go away, but the boy just sat there, looking up at him, obviously fascinated.

Finally Lucius couldn't take it anymore. He rounded on the boy, and snapped, "Look, what do you want? What's your name anyway?"

"My name's Josef," the child chirped up at him.

Lucius felt the color drain from his cheeks. _Josef?! This is the Duke's son…_ Lucius looked the boy over with new interest. So this was who he was supposed to be a companion too? Lucius groaned. He could already tell what sort of child Josef was—the kind that asked non-stop questions. _Great, just great._ Lucius froze as another realization swept over him, _Josef is my brother…_ He choked on his ale, causing Josef to laugh again. Lucius glared at him over the rim of the mug, and Josef stopped. Lucius asked, grumpiness evident in his voice, "What are you doing in the kitchen? You're not supposed to be down here."

"I'm exploring."

Lucius opened his mouth to tell Josef to go explore somewhere else, but he didn't have to. Nancy returned, and upon entering the kitchen, her eyes fell instantly upon Josef.

In an instant she had crossed the kitchen and scooped the child up off the bench. "Now, now, young master. What are you doing down here? You're not supposed to be in the kitchen." She carried Josef from the room, but Lucius could still hear their voices in the passageway.

"I was exploring," Josef pouted. He sounded mad that his adventure had been interrupted.

Nancy responded in tones she had never used with Lucius. Lucius felt ire and resentment bubble up inside him. "Well, you can explore other parts of the house. Why don't you go find your father?"

"Papa never wants to see me…" Their voices faded as they moved out of range.

Lucius returned to his bread and ale to finish his breakfast in peace. _Finally._ His peace didn't last for long though, as he heard Nancy returning to the kitchen, her fast pace indicating she was not pleased. She came through the door, eyes flashing at him, and Lucius cringed.

Nancy stormed over to him, and glared down at him, hands on hips, "Just what did you think you were doing?!"

"Me?!" Lucius said incredulously, leaping to his feet defiantly. "_I didn't do anything!_"

Nancy wouldn't hear it. "Don't you talk like that to me! You may have been elevated in position, but that doesn't make you my master. And if I catch you enticing the Duke's son into trouble again, you can be sure his Grace will know about it!"

Lucius shut up. Nancy's threat of reporting him to the Duke was sufficiently frightening enough that he held his tongue. If Nancy followed through with her threat, maybe the Duke would change his mind about taking Lucius with him. Lucius couldn't stand the thought of having freedom within his grasp, only to lose it because of Nancy. So he muttered an apology, and sat back down, resentment at Josef filling him for getting him into trouble.

"That's better," Nancy said. She indicated the remains of the bread and ale with a jerk of her head. "Now hurry up and finish your breakfast. Anne should be back soon." She bustled off to the other side of the kitchen.

Lucius glared at her back, and hurriedly finished his breakfast. As he ate he thought over what she had said to him…

_—"You may have been elevated in position, but that doesn't make you my master."—_

Elevated? Him? Lucius couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. If being Josef's companion elevated his status in society above that of a common servant…well, Lucius would be very careful to not give the Duke cause to change his mind about taking Lucius back to Selesia.

Anne returned before he could continue that train of thought. Hurrying into the kitchen, she unwrapped her shawl and hung it on a peg. She spotted Lucius, and hurried over to him. She unveiled his new clothes, starting to dress him—pants that didn't come up short at the ankle, and a fresh, clean tunic, sewn from muslin, not wool. Lucius gaped at the softness of the material. He had new leather shoes as well. In a flabbergasted moment, Lucius realized he now owned two pairs of _real_ shoes, for he still had the shoes the Viscount had bought him to wear as a servant in his household.

Lucius marveled in the luxuriousness of it all. He could hardly believe this was his life. _Elevated position in society indeed…_

* * *

_Three months later…_

Lucius hurried through the streets of London. Tomorrow the Duke was leaving for Selesia, and Lucius would be going with him. Friedrich had taken Josef for one last visit to the English court and Lucius had taken advantage of the opportunity to slip out of the house. He was going to see his mother one last time before he left England—possibly forever.

In the past three months he had only managed to slip away to see his mother once. It had been late at night, but Lucius _had_ to see her…

_He hurried through the dark, filthy streets, being extra careful to watch his step. He could not afford to dirty his clothes or Friedrich—'No, my father,' Lucius thought. '**Father** will know I've been out.' To be perfectly honest, Lucius still wasn't sure what to call the Duke. He had realized quickly that the Duke would not publicly acknowledge their relationship. It irritated Lucius to no end. But he went along, because he did not want the Duke to change his mind about bringing him back to Selesia._

_Lucius fantasized about what his new life would be like. He would have the freedom to do whatever the hell he wanted. He would be a Duke's son! Finally, people would look upon him with respect. He would have power. After all, Nancy had said his position in society was elevated now…Soon after he had taken up his new duties, he had noticed a welcome shift in her behavior towards him. She no longer beat him, nor raised her voice. Once she had started to reprimand him in front of Josef, and Josef had angrily ordered her to stop. It had shocked Lucius how the four-year-old child had spoken with such authority. Nancy had backed away. But when Josef turned to Lucius, obviously hoping for his thanks, Lucius had only snapped at him, "I don't need your help. I can take care of myself." He resented that he had needed Josef to rescue him. Nevertheless, after that incident, Nancy's entire attitude towards him changed. It seemed Lucius occupied a higher position in class now than she did and he reveled in it. He could tell it was frustrating her to no end._

_Lucius had been kept busy. He was being tutored alongside Josef now, and he hated the fact that Josef was ahead of him. With all of his new studies, Lucius hadn't found a chance to slip away to see his mother until tonight. But he found the old boarding house with ease. He had hurried inside and entered his mother's room._

_He had been shocked at her appearance. His mother's face was sunken in, her skin grey and clammy. There were dried flecks of blood around her mouth, and the room stank of filth and excrement. Her chamber pot had not been emptied, and it was nearly overflowing. A rat was on the bed, nibbling at the edge of the blanket, near his mother's feet. Lucius waved it off with a cry, rousing his mother._

_"Lu-Lucius?" Her thin frame was wracked with a coughing fit. Lucius could only stare horrified at the amount of blood she coughed into her hands._

_"Mother!" He sat down next to her on the bed, wiping the blood away from her mouth with the edge of the blanket. How could her health have deteriorated so sharply in such a short time? Lucius felt tears brimming._

_His mother saw, and smiled sadly up at him. She was too weak to even sit up to speak with him. "Don't cry, Lucius. You always knew I was dying. The trip to the Viscount's took what strength I had left."_

_A tear spilled down Lucius's cheek, and with an obvious effort, his mother lifted her hand to wipe it away. "There, there. It was worth it. Look at you, Lucius. Look at your clothes. You shine like a new pence. I'm so proud of you. You must be leaving soon for Selesia."_

_Lucius nodded, "I don't want to leave you. Can't you come with us? Friedrich is rich enough…"_

_His mother had laughed, which had transformed into another fit of coughing. "Oh Lucius, Friedrich would never agree to take me. I am taken care of well enough here, and I will die happy knowing that you will be with him, claiming what's rightfully yours. Never let Friedrich forget that you are also his son."_

_Lucius choked over the words, "I won't. I promise."_

_His mother smoothed his hair back from his forehead, murmuring, "I'm so proud of you. How handsome my son looks…" Her eyes slipped shut, and she lay in bed peacefully, her chest rising and falling raggedly._

_Lucius stayed at her side the rest of the night. As the morning sun approached he rose. His mother stirred, "Lucius? Where are you going?"_

_"I've got to return to the Viscount's house before everyone wakes up. I'll be back Mother. I'll see you one last time before we leave England."_

_A tear slipped from his mother's eye, trailing slowly down her cheek. Lucius pretended not to see it and hastily dumped out her chamber pot, tucked the blanket firmly around her, and placed a kiss to her forehead._

_She whispered to him, squeezing his hand, "I will always love you."_

_"I've got to go, Mother. I'll come back to see you again." Lucius hurried from the room. All the next day, he kept nodding off over his studies, and he was even more snappish and irritable with Josef than usual. All he could see when he looked at Josef was someone who had never had to suffer through anything—Josef's life was one of privilege and power, and Lucius resented Josef for it already…_

He entered the boarding house and clamored up the steps two at a time. His heart ached with the thought that this would be the last time he would ever see his mother. The last time he would ever get to speak to her, to feel her arms wrapped around him.

He pushed open the door to the room, and stopped short in surprise.

It was empty.

A man in a dark suit and a woman stood in the room, looking over the furniture and blankets. The man was muttering, "Well, the table might fetch a pound or two, but this rag, I don't think it'd bring in more than a shilling, and that's only if the bloodstains can be scrubbed out…"

Lucius shouted, "What are you doing?!"

The man turned around, and Lucius saw he was holding his mother's dress in his hands. Lucius's vision went red with anger, "Where did you get that?! _Where's my mother?!_"

The woman hurried forward, "Shh, child. I'm sorry, but the woman who lived here is dead. Passed away yesterday mornin. She's been taken off to be buried, and her things are to be auctioned off."

"_NO!_" Lucius screamed. He lunged forward trying to grab his mother's dress, but the woman blocked him. He shrieked at her, "_Give it back! You have no right!_"

The dark man spoke, his voice was cold, unfeeling. "I have every right. Your mother still owed payment when she died. By rights, everything she possessed belongs to me now. Your mother is dead, boy. Nothing is going to change that."

Lucius felt liked he had been slapped. He couldn't say anything, but he stood and glared angrily at the man, tears streaming down his face, until the woman took him by the arm, and led him from the room, down the stairs and out of the house. She pushed him a little ways down the street saying, "Now go get you back where you came from. I'm sorry your mother's dead, but that's the way life works sonny. Best for you to be understandin that now." She turned and went back inside the boarding house.

Lucius stood stunned outside. He didn't move for a full twenty minutes, thinking of all the things he wanted to do to that man in the dark suit. _He has no right! He has no right!_ But he didn't go back inside. Instead he turned and flung himself up the streets, running as hard as he could. Tears streamed down his face. _I didn't get to say good-bye! I didn't get to tell her I loved her…_A sob tore from his throat.

A dark rage spilled into his heart. _This is the Duke's fault! He never cared about my mother. He used her and then abandoned her! If he had just acknowledged her it would be different…_Lucius didn't understand why the Duke wouldn't acknowledge his relationship with Jenny. He was still to young to realize that what he had wanted from the Duke would've never happened. Lucius remembered the way Friedrich had watched coolly as his mother had bowed to him…His face burned with anger. _He treated her like bloody shite! He never cared for her! _Lucius didn't even know if that was true, but the vindictive thought sounded good in his head. _He wouldn't let me see her, wouldn't let me say good-bye…_

Lucius ran down an alley. He had to vent his anger somehow. His eyes feel upon an old, crippled dog, lying next to a pile of rotting scraps. The poor animal had obviously been hoping to find a meal. Lucius fell upon the dog, kicking it as hard as he could, over and over again. He didn't hear the pitiful squeals and whimpers from the helpless animal. He followed the dog as it tried miserably to escape from him, driving his foot into the poor beast's starving body again and again. He surrendered himself to the haze and pain of his rage.

When his sight cleared, he saw the dog was dead, its body mangled and broken. He looked around the alley. An old beggar was watching him from a doorway with a startled expression on his face. Lucius shouted at him, "What are you staring at?" The beggar continued to watch him, and Lucius turned and fled, back out of the alley, back towards the Viscount's townhouse.

He entered the house, managing to avoid the other servants. The Duke and the Viscount had yet to return from the court with Josef. Lucius hurled himself into his bedroom. After a few nights spent in the kitchen, he had been given a small room in the servants' quarters. He buried his face in his arms, and sobbed over the death of his mother. He knew what kind of burial she had been given. Her naked body piled on top of a massive unmarked grave.

Eventually he ran out of tears. His chest heaved. He remembered his mother's last words to him. _—"I will die happy knowing that you will be with him, claiming what's rightfully yours. Never let Friedrich forget that you are also his son."_

_"I won't. I promise."—_

A resolve tightened in his chest. He locked away his mother's words in his heart. He would never forget them. He would hate Friedrich for the way he had treated his mother until the day he died. Lucius promised himself.

He heard voices coming from the hall. Friedrich, and the Viscount had returned from the court with Josef. Lucius rose from his bed, and checked his face in the small mirror that hung in the room. He wiped away the last traces of tears from his face.

Smiling, he left the room.

* * *

Josef wasn't listening to his father and the Viscount talking. He was looking around eagerly for Lucius. Josef idolized the ground he walked on. Nothing could shake him in his affection for the older boy. He followed Lucius around the Viscount's house, asking him question after question. He thought Lucius must like him too, since he sometimes responded kindly. Josef was too little to realize that Lucius only responded such in the Duke's presence.

Josef hadn't been able to understand why Lucius couldn't go with him to the court. It would have been so much more fun if Lucius had been with him. No matter how hard Lucius snapped or shoved him away, Josef continued to idolize him.

Finally he caught sight of Lucius at the end of the hall. Josef started to rush up to him, but came to a halt after only a few steps. Though he was young, Josef already displayed a keen intelligence, and an impressive awareness of his surroundings and others. And now Josef was realizing that something was not right with Lucius.

Lucius looked at him, and smiled. But for the first time since he had met him, Josef shrank back. There was something in Lucius's expression that terrified him. Josef didn't know what it was—he just knew that right now he didn't want to be near the older boy. Josef ran back to his father, and wrapped his arms around his father's legs, burying his face in Friedrich's knees.

"Josef!" Friedrich looked down, startled. "What's gotten into you, son?"

Josef didn't answer, he didn't know how to tell his father. But the little child knew. Lucius's smile had been cold as death, and his dark eyes had glittered at Josef with a hatred Josef couldn't even begin to comprehend…

But he could sense it was there nevertheless, simmering under the surface, waiting…

_Finis_


	6. Childhood: part III

Hello my rabid readers. Thank you so much those of you who took the time to leave me a comment on my last chapter. You guys are too kind! Here's the next chapter. It may be a little slower than the other ones, but I'm afraid it can't be helped. This chapter is setting up things that are coming later…it's more focusing on character development than action...

Keep in mind that Elisabeth is a sheltered, naïve child, and believes that Lucius has the power to do what he says, without realizing that others may have the power to stop him.

Yes, Lucius is supposed to be perverted, and yes, I know his thoughts are incestuous. Remember, he _is_ the story's villain. He is 13 years old, just hitting puberty, Elisabeth is 11, and Josef is 7 years old.

Please forgive typos, and if you spot a historical inaccuracy, and if you'd like to point it out, _**Please do so in a private message**_.

Enjoy! 8)

_Childhood, part III_

_--Duchy of Selesia, 1606--_

Josef had dismissed him again. It was the one command the young noble gave that Lucius did not resent having to obey. He had hurried off, entering his bedchamber, thankful for the privacy the room offered. Here, where he kept his few belongings, he was truly alone and could let his mask drop that he put up in the presence of the rest of the household. Only in the privacy of his chamber did he allow his anger to show.

And angry he was. All the time.

In moments of clarity Lucius would realize that the amount of hatred he carried around inside himself was unhealthy. But he couldn't help it. On the worst days, his rage at his life and situation, at the Duke, and by extension his family, would creep up his throat, strangling and choking him like a twisted vine, until he could hardly breath for his hatred. It ate away at him, like worms or maggots on a rotting corpse, a sick, slimy feeling in the pit of his stomach that never completely vanished. His hatred for everything around him even went as far as to physically affect him—he was the palest youth in the whole of the Duchy, and his eyes stared and started—two dark orbs burning out of a sunken face.

He crossed to the window in his chamber, and looked down below at the scurrying of Friedrich's servants as they prepared the household to move to the country estate for the summer season. He sneered down at them from his viewpoint. _At least I don't have to work as a common servant…_But the thought was of little compensation. Lucius angrily reflected back over the past three years. He could still remember with clarity arriving at the Duchy, and being put in his place.

They had taken a ship from England to the French region Calais. From there, they had traveled across country—overland, by carriage. The journey had taken a little over four weeks, and Friedrich had taken the opportunity to learn about his son, so much so that Lucius had noticed how Friedrich would rather spend time conversing with him in the carriage than with Josef. Josef bore his father's neglect quietly, and Lucius had the sense that the child was used to it, even though it was plainly obvious that Josef thirsted for his father's attention. However, Lucius found he couldn't complain about the situation—though he hated the Duke, he made sure to keep those emotions hidden, he needed Friedrich to like him, and he flung the attention he received in Josef's face at every opportunity. Until he had made a mistake—until he had tried calling Friedrich 'father' to his face.

It seemed only then that Friedrich had realized what Lucius thought about what his life was going to be like in the Duchy. The Duke had quickly dashed those dreams. In a cold voice he had told Lucius that while Lucius may be his son, he would not give him that acknowledgement publicly. The circumstances of Lucius's birth—the affair of having a bastard child with an English maidservant—made it impossible for Friedrich to treat him as a son. Friedrich had explained quite clearly the rules which were to govern Lucius's life. Lucius was _never_ to call him 'father', he was to address the Duke as the other servants did. While he would not be treated as a common servant, he was certainly not to be treated as nobility, Josef remained Friedrich's heir, and Lucius would be expected to wait on the younger child—to act as Josef's companion. Lucius got the sense that he would be little more than a glorified, personal manservant. He had ground his teeth as Friedrich had delivered his circumstances to him. It was all Lucius could do to remain calm, as Friedrich had slowly and methodically torn down each fantasy Lucius had had about how his life in the Duchy would be.

After that conversation, Friedrich had stopped showing as much interest in him. The Duke seemed to realize that even showing affection or favor for his oldest son in private could be dangerous, and so he had stopped giving Lucius his attention, though he obviously still favored him. Lucius didn't care so much about the lost interest—after all, he despised Friedrich with a frightening passion for the way Friedrich had treated his mother—though the Duke had little inkling of how deep Lucius's emotions ran—Just as long as Friedrich didn't abandon Lucius, the youth didn't care. And Lucius couldn't help but notice that while the Duke had dismissed him, Friedrich continued to show very little attention to Josef, beyond fatherly duty.

When they had arrived at the Duchy, Lucius's suspicions were proven correct. He was little more than Josef's manservant. A passage ran from his room to Josef's, in case Josef ever summoned him in the night—which Josef never did. Lucius stood behind Josef as he ate, and only took his own meals after Josef had finished. He attended all of Josef's studies, but he was not tutored as Josef was. What he had managed to learn, he had had to pick up with his own intelligence. Over the three years Lucius had slowly taught himself to read and write just as well as Josef.

All day, every day he was expected to be Josef's constant companion. It rankled him that he had to play servant to someone six years younger than him. However, most of the time Josef dismissed him. The young boy didn't seem to enjoy Lucius's company much, and at every opportunity told him he could leave. Lucius was only too glad to get away.

Looking out the window across the castle's courtyard, Lucius heard shrieks of laughter and spotted Josef running with his fencing partner—Charles Fritz. Lucius grimaced. He had been useless as a fencing partner to help Josef train, their difference in age made Lucius much too tall and strong for Josef, and so another son of nobility had come to practice fencing with Josef under the master. Josef and Charles were well suited for each other as fencing partners, and their relationship had quickly moved from just fellow pupils, to a fast friendship. They often roamed the castle together, talking, laughing, and getting into trouble—for which then Lucius was whipped. For that reason alone Lucius disliked Charles—for it was often most likely Charles the one getting the two into trouble.

Now, Lucius watched them both from his chamber window. They were chasing each other around the castle courtyard, laughing and shouting. After a while they came to a halt, and stood talking, and messing around with each other. Lucius could faintly hear their voices on the wind, but couldn't make out exactly what they were saying. Charles was talking rather animatedly, and Lucius thought that Josef only looked like he was half paying attention. Something—or rather, _someone_—else had caught Josef's notice. Lucius could hear quite distinctly Josef's happy shout. "Bess!"

For indeed, it was Elisabeth, crossing the courtyard to go stand next to her little brother. Lucius perked up, watching her every move—her every gesture and expression. _Elisabeth…_He grinned.

Lucius knew the reason Josef dismissed him all the time, was because his little brother had somehow managed to sense the dark emotions that ran through his veins. Josef had long ago stopped idolizing Lucius. But Elisabeth…Elisabeth doted on him. She constantly wanted to be in his company, and since Josef still worshipped the ground his sister tread, it often meant that Lucius would be forced to accompany them on whatever it was they did. Josef couldn't refuse Elisabeth anything, and what Elisabeth wanted was Lucius's company.

At first, Lucius had been indifferent towards Elisabeth's admiration, but starting a few months ago, Lucius had noticed a change in his feelings towards his little sister. He often found himself staring at her, noticing that slowly but surely she was beginning to develop and that her body was starting to curve. He found that…he liked it. He often found himself wondering what she looked like underneath her dress, and he found himself wishing he could get her alone to ask…

Lucius watched her talking with Josef and Charles from his bedroom window…He knew Elisabeth would do anything he asked, he had her wrapped around his little finger…He just had to be patient. The three children started their game of chase again, and Lucius watched Elisabeth's hair flutter in the wind as she ran, watched the way her dress rippled across her legs. If he was patient, he knew he would find a chance to talk to her alone…

He found his opportunity almost a month later…

* * *

Elisabeth sadly patted the grey mare softly on the nose. Beauty nickered, and snorted into the palm of her hand, looking for a treat—a bit of root or some such morsel. But Elisabeth didn't have anything to give her. "Sorry, girl."

She had always loved the stables at the country estate—her father owned many horses, and she had been taught to ride sidesaddle. She had learned on this very mare, but now her father had sold the horse to a noble family. Elisabeth had been devastated when she found out. Beauty was her favorite horse to ride, _Why did Papa have to sell her?_ Even though it had been getting dark, she had run outside to the stables to say goodbye to her friend. Beauty's new masters were coming for her the next day.

She stood in front of Beauty's stall, trying hard not to cry. Beauty seemed to sense her distress and nuzzled her shoulder gently. Elisabeth knew she should be returning to the manor before it grew any darker—besides, Josef was waiting for her so they could read together. They would read passages aloud to each other by candlelight for a short time most early evenings. Lucius would often sit in the room with them much to Elisabeth's delight. She loved showing off in front of him—her reading skills were very basic and rudimentary, as she had only been given a few lessons, seeing as how she was female, but she was smart and caught on quickly, much as Josef had. Friedrich had expressed his desire to have Elisabeth at least be a little educated. Her father could be extremely liberal at times when the mood suited him.

But the male figure she hero-worshipped was Lucius. She looked up to and admired Lucius a lot. He always seemed so sure of himself, so confident. Elisabeth, by nature and by upbringing, was a quiet, shy girl. She often wished she could be like Lucius, and stride purposefully from place to place, _Always walking like he's important…_she thought with a small smile.

Speaking of which, as Elisabeth stepped inside Beauty's stall with the mare's comb, intending to brush her fine coat and mane one last time, the door at the far end of the stables slid open, revealing the tall form of her older brother. Yes, Elisabeth had figured it out rather quickly that Lucius was of her blood—her older brother. _Well, older **half**-brother…_ Josef also knew that information by now as well. It was often something the two of them talked about when they spent time together. Josef would accompany her on walks around the country estate, though it was obvious he found those boring—he preferred playing chase…—but he did enjoy riding with her, and she knew he looked forward to reading with her in the evenings.

Elisabeth also knew her little brother didn't like Lucius, but she couldn't figure out why. At her request, Josef would keep Lucius with him most times when they went walking or riding. Elisabeth was by now very familiar with Lucius's company, so it was with no fear that she turned to face him, and offer him a small, tear-streaked smile.

She struggled against her anger, "Lucius, can you believe it? Papa sold Beauty! My favorite mare!"

She watched as Lucius pulled the door shut to the stables, and wondered at the small feeling of nervousness that had suddenly sprung up in her chest. She watched as Lucius strode down the stable's length, to the back by Beauty's stall, and by Elisabeth.

Elisabeth stared up at him, chastising herself for her nervous emotions. She had nothing to be frightened of…it was just Lucius. Still, she felt her former ease in his presence vanish…she felt a little scared. Lucius's dark eyes were staring intently at her, two dark spots in the glow of the candlelight. Timidly, she asked, "Lucius?"

Lucius ran his tongue out briefly over his lips, wetting them. He stepped forward into the stall towards Elisabeth, reaching a hand out, and starting to tug her dress down from her shoulders.

Elisabeth slapped his hand away, shocked. "Lucius! What are you doing?"

Lucius seemed to come to himself, and he met her gaze. "I'm just curious, Elisabeth," he whispered. "I want to see you. Take off your dress for me?"

Elisabeth was appalled. She had been taught enough about what was expected of her behavior as a woman, and as a noble and she knew that this was in no way appropriate. It went way beyond all sense of propriety. "No! What are you saying, Lucius? How can you ask that? How dare you!" She stamped her foot down indignantly.

"I just want one look, and I'm going to get it," Lucius snarled. He stepped towards Elisabeth, and she backed away. Beauty shuffled nervously, picking up on her mistress's distress. Lucius was closing the distance between them, and Elisabeth's heart was in her throat. She knew that no one had the right to see her naked, especially Lucius. Her mind whirled in a confusion of disjointed thoughts…_This can't be Lucius…this can't be! What's wrong? Why didn't I see this coming? Why is he doing this?_ She felt the wooden wall of the stall behind her, and knew that she had run out of room to retreat. Lucius bore down on her, and Elisabeth began to cry silently.

Lucius reached out to pull down her dress; Elisabeth squeezed her eyes shut, frightened. His hands felt cold on her shoulders…

Then to her immense joy and relief, she heard the stable door open, and the voice of her little brother, "Bess? Are you here? When are you coming to read?"

"_Josef!_" Elisabeth screamed.

"Bess? What's wrong?!" Josef's voice sounded worried, and she heard him advance down the floor of the stables. Beauty still blocked her and Lucius from sight.

In a flash, Lucius leaned in and whispered in her ear, "If you tell him, I'll kill him. If you value your brother's life, keep your mouth shut." He leaned back, holding her eyes with his powerful gaze, and Elisabeth finally understood why Josef didn't like Lucius. How many times had Josef told her Lucius was no good? How many times had she dismissed Josef's observations as just a little boy's jealousy? Now she knew, Josef was right, Lucius was twisted in some dark way.

Lucius tugged the dress back into perfect position, and hissed at her, "Do you understand me, _Bess?_"

Elisabeth shuddered to hear Josef's affectionate name for her fall from Lucius's lips. She nodded meekly. She was certain that if she said anything Lucius would follow through with his threat and hurt Josef. She rapidly composed herself, trying her best to ignore Lucius's smirk as he backed away from her, putting a healthy amount of distance between them.

In the next moment, Josef had reached the stall. "Bess?" he asked. He started towards her, and then stopped short in surprise at seeing Lucius there. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

Elisabeth watched the way that Lucius's eyes flashed angrily, before he forced his expression into a smile. She wondered at herself, that she had missed those dark looks, those expressions before. Lucius's tone was light-hearted, "We were just playing a game, trying to scare each other in the dark."

"Go back to your room, and leave Bess alone," Josef snapped at him.

Again Elisabeth caught the flash of resentment that ever so briefly crossed Lucius's face. _How could I have not noticed?_ Lucius shrugged a shoulder, and stepped past Josef out of the stall.

Josef moved forward to his sister, looking up into her face anxiously. In that moment, Elisabeth's heart swelled with love and gratitude for her little brother. Josef's voice was quiet as he asked, "Were you really just playing a game, Bess?"

Elisabeth opened her mouth to respond, and caught sight of Lucius staring at her over the stall wall. He made a slicing motion across his throat behind Josef's back. She swallowed, and said in a slightly shaking voice, "Y-yes. Yes. We were just playing. Lucius was trying to cheer me about losing Beauty. I just got caught up in the game when you came in, that's all." She met Lucius's eyes over Josef's head, and watched him nod once at her, and then stalk off, out of the stables.

Josef had missed the exchange. He seemed hurt, "Why didn't you want to play with me?"

Elisabeth pulled her little brother into a tight hug. "It's not that Josef. It's not that at all. Next time, I'll definitely play with you. Tomorrow we'll go exploring okay?"

"Mmm-kay. Come on Bess, let's go read." Josef tugged on her hand, pulling her out of the stall.

Elisabeth paused a moment to pick up her candle where she had set it down. The small light flickered and fluttered as she moved it. Her voice sounded slightly strained as she said, "Maybe we could skip reading tonight, Josef? I'm tired."

Josef tried hard to hide his disappointment from her, but Elisabeth saw it anyway. But Josef only sighed and said, "Okay." Elisabeth knew that he was feeling brushed aside again, and hated herself for making him feel that way. He got enough of that from their father. But she just couldn't handle sitting down and reading right now, not after what Lucius had done to her. She just wanted to go to the privacy of her rooms, where no men were allowed to enter.

As she and Josef walked out of the stall, Beauty snickered sadly at her one last time, and she reached out at rubbed the horse's nose softly, "Good-bye girl."

Josef looked up at the horse and then over to Elisabeth sadly. "I'm sorry, Bess. Did Papa really sell Beauty?"

Elisabeth nodded. Josef's brow furrowed for a moment, then he asked hesitatingly, "Papa…Papa's losing money isn't he? That's why he had to sell the horse?"

Elisabeth didn't understand how finances and money worked, but she understood enough. Their father always seemed to be spending money on something. She nodded and whispered her answer to Josef's question, "I think so, but I don' t know for sure."

They left the stables and walked together back to the manor. It sat high, rich and majestic, with spires gracing its rooftop. They entered the foyer, and Josef turned to head towards the library, while Elisabeth turned in the direction of her rooms.

"Good night, Bess." Josef smiled up at her.

Elisabeth forced a smile on her face, "Good-night." She watched until Josef had entered the library, and then she turned away and hurried down the hall. By the time she reached her rooms she was practically sprinting. She threw open the door to her chamber, then slammed it shut behind her, and flung herself onto her bed. Only then did she allow her terror and fear over what had happened between her and Lucius, and her sadness at losing Beauty, to manifest itself in great, wracking sobs.

She trembled on her bed. If Josef hadn't come…Lucius would have pulled down her dress, Elisabeth was sure of it. Just as she was sure that Lucius would follow through with his threat of hurting, possibly killing Josef, if she told anyone. Elisabeth vowed that she would keep silent. She wouldn't do anything to put Josef in danger, especially after he had unknowingly rescued her tonight. She would just have to be careful to never allow Lucius a chance to corner her alone again…

* * *

Josef sighed and shut the book. He couldn't read; he was worried about Bess. Something seemed off, something was wrong, _something_ had happened in the stables, and Josef was almost positive that Lucius had something to do with it.

Josef just couldn't figure it out though. Both Bess and Lucius had said they were only playing…Josef didn't trust Lucius, but he did trust Bess. If she said she was playing he believed her…it was just...it was just when she screamed his name as he entered the stables, it sure hadn't sounded like playing to him.

But there was nothing he could do. He was only seven years old…maybe he was wrong. But a brotherly instinct told him that he was right, that Bess had been relieved to see him.

With another sigh he replaced the book it in its spot in the library. He hadn't seen his father since supper, and he felt the familiar twang of hurt. He felt his eyes burn a little with unshed tears. _First Papa, now Bess…_He felt jealous towards Lucius…Friedrich still gave Lucius some attention, and Bess doted on his brother. It wasn't fair.

Josef entered his room, and checked to make sure the door to the passage connecting his room to Lucius's was locked. The thought that Lucius could come down the passageway at any time and enter his room made Josef extremely uncomfortable, and more than a little nervous. He never went to sleep without checking to make sure the passageway was shut and locked. Even three years later, Josef still knew that there was something wrong with Lucius…

Josef changed for bed, and fell into a troubled sleep, wondering just what exactly he had stumbled into in the stables tonight between Bess and Lucius. His last waking thought for the day was his resolve to protect his sister at all costs. He'd be keeping a closer eye on Lucius…

_Finis_


	7. Childhood: part IV

Okay, so an update at last! A lot of this is the same of what you've already had to read, but there is some new material at the end.

A brief summary, since it has been a while...

In modern times Josef is enjoying life, (having recovered from the events in TBOABF,) as sire to Beth. Mick and Beth have settled into a happy marriage and all is seemingly well, though Mick remains a tich jealous over Josef and Beth's bond as sire/fledgling. But Josef's peace is interuppted when he recieves a phone call from an old enemy informing him that he's back for revenge. We jump to the past and discover that this isn't just any old enemy, it's Josef's half-brother, Lucius. Raised in poverty and abused by all he knows, Lucius is an angry, bitter child, who loves only his mother. When she dies without a chance for him to say goodbye, he is angry and filled with hatred toward's Josef's (and his) father-the Duke of Selesia-blaming the Duke for all of his problems. He resents Josef, believing that Josef's inherantence should rightfully belong to him. Josef resents Lucius, because his father seems to love Lucius more than him, and he can sense the anger, hatred, and evil that festers in Lucius's heart. Recently, Lucius has started to have incestuous thoughts about Josef's sister (his half-sister) Elisabeth, (Bess for short). Worried that Lucius will follow through on his threat to kill Josef, Bess has remained silent about his attack on her in the stables--and so Josef remains unaware of the incident.

The story picks up two years later from the last chapter...Lucius is fifteen, Elisabeth thirteen, and Josef nine years old.

My writing may be a little rusty...It's a lot more difficult for me than it used to be...but I still love it! **: ) **I'm really happy to be feeling better!

Please forgive typos!

Enjoy.

_Childhood, part IV_

~_Duchy of Selesia_, _1608~_

Elisabeth watched, breathless, as Josef urged the black stallion forward towards the trunk of the fallen tree. Maelstrom was a fine horse, large and muscular—powerful. His coat was as black as midnight, shimmering like burning coal in the afternoon sun. Josef sat smart in the saddle—tall, proud, and handsome. He matched the majesty of the stallion perfectly. The horse's mane and tail rippled smoothly in the wind as Josef increased the cantor, approaching the obstacle in his path. Elisabeth clutched the fence in anticipation…Josef was going to have Maelstrom jump, but Elisabeth knew the stallion was a reluctant jumper.

She needn't have worried. Josef had always been an accomplished rider, and he had been riding Maelstrom (along with the other stallions Friedrich had left in the stables) since he was little. Now, at nine-years-old, horseback riding was as easy and as natural as breathing to him. Under his skill, Maelstrom didn't even hesitate going into the jump. The stallion soared effortlessly over the large trunk, clearing it without difficulty, and landing with a loud thump of his hooves back on the ground on the other side. Josef gave a shout of triumph, and Elisabeth clapped her hands, smiling.

Josef wheeled Maelstrom over to her, pleased to see the smile upon her face. Over the past two years, Josef had noticed a slight change in his sister's personality—some of the bright cheerfulness that had used to overflow from Elisabeth had dimmed. She smiled less than she used to, and she seemed, for lack of a better word, skittish. Josef couldn't quite find a word to describe his sister's behavior, it wasn't paranoia exactly, but it was close. She was always looking over her shoulder, and didn't like being alone.

Josef wasn't sure why her personality had shifted, but he had his suspicions, and all of them revolved around Lucius. Josef had been ecstatic when Elisabeth's doting affections towards Lucius seemed to disappear overnight. He didn't know what had happened between the two of them—he was just glad that Elisabeth finally seemed to agree with his opinion of their brother.

Josef's resolve to keep an eye on Lucius hadn't lessoned over time—if anything, it had strengthened. Lucius seemed furious to lose the admiration of Elisabeth and Josef worried that Lucius might have threatened his sister in some way. But Elisabeth told him that Lucius hadn't. Now that Elisabeth didn't want Lucius around, Josef dismissed him more than ever from his duties as Josef's companion. When Lucius left the room, a weight would appear to lift from Elisabeth's shoulders, and she would become marginally more cheerful.

However, the times when Elisabeth seemed most like her usual self was always when she was with the horses. Elisabeth loved the horses—she loved riding them, brushing them, combing out their mains and tales, she loved giving them bits of carrot—there wasn't a single aspect of their father's horses that she didn't find fascinating. And Friedrich indulged her. He seemed to think it would make up for his absence in her life. In fact, the only time he had put his foot down concerning Elisabeth and the horses was when he had sold Beauty. Elisabeth had been so upset she hadn't spoken to anyone those following weeks—barely even speaking to Josef, who kept trying to tell her that, 'It was just a horse.' But it wasn't 'just a horse' to Elisabeth, and that wasn't the only thing she was upset about. She could remember the feel of his hands on her shoulder, his cool breath on her face, his voice in her ear as he whispered he would kill Josef if she told. _That_ was what she was more distressed over. But she didn't dare tell anyone. So she pretended it was losing Beauty and her father's decision that had had her so rattled.

But as she watched Josef ride up to her, she shoved the unpleasant memories aside, and smiled up at her little brother. Josef smirked down at her, "You see, Bess? I told you Maelstrom would make the jump. You fret too much."

"He just as easily could have fouled the jump Josef, and you know it."

Josef shrugged. His eyes took on a worried expression, "Do you think Catherine will like horses and riding?" He tried to toss of the question nonchalantly, but Elizabeth could detect the fear hidden in his voice. Ever since Friedrich had informed Josef of his arranged marriage, the subject of what Catherine would be like was never far from Josef's mind.

Elizabeth hastened to reassure her brother, "I'm sure that she will enjoy horseback riding as much as anyone. Don't worry. Besides, you are four years older than her. She's only five years old now. There is still a long time before you will be married."

Josef looked relieved at the reminder that there was still plenty of time. It was clear he had forgotten that detail. Not that Elizabeth blamed him. Some of her friends were already married at thirteen, and some even before then. Elizabeth sighed, wondering whether her father was ever going to get around to arranging _her_ marriage. So far he hadn't shown the slightest inclination to do so. Elizabeth was only slightly nervous, thirteen was still young. She still had time. As long as she was married before she grew too old to be attractive to a suitor…

Josef's voice interrupted her thoughts. "You should come practice with me. Go bring out Spade. She could stretch her legs." Spade was a pure white mare. Elizabeth had named her when her father had purchased the horse. Josef had long outgrown his childhood games of chase and he and Elisabeth often went riding together around the paths in the vicinity.

Elizabeth paused, considering whether she really wanted to ride or not. Josef, sensing her hesitation, tried to convince her, "You haven't practiced with me for a long time, Bess. You and Spade both could use—"

"Master Josef!" A servant was hurrying down from the estate, interrupting Josef's speech. "Master Josef!"

Josef turned away from his sister, annoyed at the interruption. "What is it?" he snapped.

The servant was unfazed. "Your father requires your presence in his study immediately. You are to go to him now. I will take care of your horse, sir."

Josef sighed, but dismounted, handing the rains over the fence to the servant. Then planting one foot on the lowest board of the fence, he easily swung himself over the top and out of the small paddock. Elizabeth reached out a ruffled his hair, "I guess we'll ride another time little brother."

Josef scowled and ducked away from her hand. "I'll see you later this evening, Bess."

"Come down to the stables. We can practice riding together after supper."

Josef's face brightened a bit at that. "All right."

The servant coughed discreetly, "Your father, sir."

Josef heaved a sigh, and turned and headed up towards the estate to see what his father wanted.

* * *

Lucius was puzzled as he made his way down the hallway to the Duke's study. Friedrich had unexpectedly summoned him, and Lucius could not think of a single reason why Friedrich would want to see him now. Lucius hadn't changed much over the years; he was taller at fifteen, and more muscular. His voice had deepened, but beyond that he still carried himself with the same anger and arrogance he always had.

He approached the study door and knocked lightly, still extremely confused about what was going on. He heard the Duke's voice from the other side, gruff and irritated, "Enter."

Lucius pushed open the door and stepped inside. The first thing he noticed was Josef standing attentively, slightly behind his father's chair. His half brother seemed just as confused as he was. _Great…_

"You wished to see me?"

Friedrich was eyeing him critically. "Shut the door, Lucius."

Lucius did as he was told, shutting the door quietly, and then coming to stand to attention in front of his father's desk. It was his least favorite spot in the manor—for it was in front of this desk that Lucius took the whippings when Josef got into trouble. If not for the confusion upon Josef's face, he would have thought that the reason why he was being summoned now. He only rarely had to take a whipping anymore. Josef was mature for his age. _Little showoff._

Friedrich was eying him with a critical eye. Lucius felt worried. Something wasn't right. "Sir?"

"Speak only when spoken too."

Lucius fumed to himself.

At last the Duke seemed ready to reveal his reasons for calling his two sons. "I have some news that concerns you both." Friedrich glanced at Josef, "You have long outgrown a need for a companion, Josef. I see you no longer keep Lucius's company at all." Friedrich turned back to Lucius, "Therefore I have obtained for you an officer's commission in the army. You will no longer take residence in my estate, but will conduct your affairs as that of an officer in training with our local militia."

Lucius couldn't help himself. "You're throwing me out?!" His voice shook with fury.

Friedrich rose to his full height, and placed his palms on his desk. Leaning forward he snarled in Lucius's face. "As my son, I have purchased for you a commission. Be grateful I did even that much. You are to report to the barracks in town for duty, without delay."

"But…But…"

"Silence! My word is final. You can accept the commission and the life of a soldier and officer, or you can beg in the streets. It's your choice."

Lucius was furious. He stood, red-faced, glaring into the eyes of his father, clenching and unclenching his fists. Finally, he managed to spit out through a tight jaw, "I accept your offer."

"Good. Go and prepare your things."

As Lucius turned to leave he caught sight of Josef's expression. One of gleeful triumph. This infuriated him even more. He swore as he left the study he would take his revenge somehow. If it was the last thing he did, some way he would have his revenge.

_Finis_

* * *

So there it is...just a little bit of new stuff...but after this everything will be new...so Yay! I'm really excited to get back to this story. **: )**


	8. The Death of Innocence

Here we go with another update...

**Warning: There are graphic descriptions of rape appearing in this chapter.** The rape scene is the very last of 8 scenes appearing in the chapter, so if you do not wish to read it, I suggest you stop at this line: _The wooden beam dropped into place with an ominous echo._

Thank you to **Netelejala** who is such a HUGE help with historical research.

This was a pretty heartbreaking and horrible chapter to write, but it is necessary.

Please forgive any typos.

_The Death of Innocence_

Josef hurried down to the stables where he had left Elisabeth. He couldn't wait to share the news. _Lucius is leaving!_ He couldn't be happier to see him go. He had a feeling Elisabeth would be pleased as well. Finally, after years of keeping a sharp eye upon his half-brother, he could relax.

He hurried into the large stables. The late afternoon sun shone in through the wide, open doorway, illuminating the dust in the air, and bathing the hay in a golden light. "Bess! Bess!"

She poked her head out from around a stall corner. She was brushing Spade. Josef rolled his eyes. His sister spent an ungodly amount of time brushing that horse.

"What is it Josef? Lower your voice, you'll spook the horses. What did Father want?"

Josef hurried down the aisle and stepped into the stall, picking up a comb. He began to pick through the tangles in Spade's mane with it as he talked to Elisabeth. "Father is dismissing Lucius. He's sending him off to the militia. He's leaving!"

Elisabeth's entire face lit up, and she stopped brushing the horse for a moment. "Really? Are you sure, Josef? Lucius is truly going to go?"

"I heard it straight from Father. I was there when he told him."

"How did he take the news?"

"Not well. He was angry. You would think he would be more grateful for all that Father's done for him…"

Lucius's cold voice, filled with incredulousness, interrupted from the entrance to the stables. "Done for me?! _Done for me?!_ Friedrich's done _nothing_ for me…_I_ am the oldest son. You have robbed me of my mother, my birthrights, and now you have taken my home."

Josef's expression was startled. He was obviously surprised by Lucius's sudden appearance. Nevertheless, he bravely spun around to face him. "You were lucky to even have a mother. As for your birthrights, an officer's commission _is_ your right. _I_ am the heir, not you. You have always thought yourself higher than you actually are. You should be grateful that Father even took you in. You are nothing more than a _bastard_, and everyone knows it."

Lucius's face went purple with rage. For a moment he stood there, frozen with anger, and then he curled his fist, and took a step forward. "You take that back," he hissed.

Josef threw down the comb amongst the hay in the stall and strolled forward to meet the challenge, though Lucius was both taller and stronger. "I will not. It is only the truth, and you know it."

Elisabeth was watching all with a stricken expression on her face. She reached out and grabbed Josef's shoulder. "No, no! Josef, you mustn't fight. What would Father say?"

Though her words were intended for Josef, they seemed to have more of an impact with Lucius. It was transparent enough to see what he was thinking. If he fought with Josef, Friedrich would revoke his commission. Lucius would be left with nothing. Worse, he could be thrown in prison for fighting with the Duke's heir. He backed down. "One day, Josef... You won't always be able to hide behind your nobility."

Josef glared. "Do you have some reason for being down here?"

"Friedrich has so _graciously_ allowed me to choose a horse and a saddle."

"Then go about your business and be gone." Josef turned his back upon his half-brother—the ultimate sign of dismissal. Lucius didn't say anything more. He went about selecting a horse and saddle in icy silence.

* * *

Later that evening, Lucius stood in his chamber, staring down upon his bed and his few possessions. A few coins—that what he had managed to scrounge together over the years—his nightshirt, his single change of clothes, and a few trinkets. All in all, it didn't look like much. Lucius reached down and picked up his latest acquisition Friedrich had bestowed upon him, a sword and buckle. He slid it out of the sheath and crossed to the window in order to examine it in the evening light.

The blade was long and polished. In the setting sun the metal took on a reddish hue—it looked as though someone had dipped the sword in blood. It had a solid two-handed grip, wrapped tight and secure in brown leather. There was no stone in the pommel, and while it irked Lucius that Friedrich hadn't given one that contained a gem, he could still recognize the fine craftsmanship that had gone into the weapon.

He thought about sliding it across Friedrich's throat. And then Josef's. Standing in front of the window, he gripped the sword, bringing it down into a fighting stance, and imagined the red light shining on it was instead the blood of his half-brother. He imagined himself as Friedrich's only heir, to come into all the money and power of the duchy when Friedrich died. _This should all belong to me…_

He slid the sword back into its sheath, and replaced it on the bed. Tonight would be his last night as a member of the household. After this it would only be the life of an officer for him. Lucius admitted there was some appeal to it. It would certainly be better than living as Josef's personal manservant.

He sighed. He was hungry. He had skipped his dinner to brood while he gathered his things. Now, however, his stomach was growling, and he wanted to eat. He exited his chamber, and went down the servant staircase, two steps at a time.

Just before he reached the end he paused. Beyond the tapestry hanging at the bottom of the stairs he heard humming. And not just anyone humming—he was quite sure it was Elisabeth. He licked his lips. His lust for Elisabeth had only increased over the last two years. She was clever, skillfully never allowing herself to be alone with him—though he had tried to manipulate such a situation many times. Elisabeth was thirteen now, and she was developing into a lovely young woman. He crept to the end of the stairs.

Listening, he waited as she passed by on the other side of the tapestry, and then quietly peeked out from around the edge. Elisabeth was rounding the corner, needlepoint in hand. Lucius silently slid out from the stairwell, and followed her.

He rounded the corner just in time to see her vanish into the library. Creeping to the doorway, he stole a look inside fast enough to catch a glimpse of Josef looking up from his book, as Elisabeth settled herself before a roaring fire. Lucius pressed himself against the wall near the doorway and listened…

* * *

Josef was engrossed in a book when his sister entered the library. He looked up, a smile forming on his face, and caught sight of something. A movement behind Elisabeth in the doorway. He blinked and it was gone. _What was that?_ Josef puzzled over what he had seen for a few seconds, and then dismissed it. _Just a shadow playing tricks on me, is all._ He marked his place in his book, and then turned his attention to Elisabeth.

She was embroidering an elegant fleur de lis onto a piece of fabric. She had been working at it for some time now, and so it was nearly complete. She hummed to herself under her breath as she worked. Josef was surprised to see her so happy. Since he had informed her that Lucius was leaving she seemed to walk with a lighter spring in her step.

Elisabeth noticed him watching her, "What?"

"Nothing." Josef searched for a change of topic. He didn't want his sister to know he worried about her. He loved her more than anyone in the entire world—she was the closest thing he had to a mother. He would do anything to make her happy, to see her smile. But he didn't want Elisabeth to realize he had noticed her depressed spirits. So he said, "We should go riding tomorrow, Bess. I am fencing with Charles, but afterwards we should go riding."

And there it was, her smile. "I'd like to do that. Spade hasn't been able to really stretch her legs for so long, she has probably forgotten what it means to be a horse."

"I'll come find you then, when I am finished fencing."

Elisabeth nodded, completing another stitch. Josef turned back to his book. He hoped that the old Elisabeth was back for good.

* * *

Pressed against the wall outside the library, Lucius heard the entire conversation. His eyes narrowed in the dark as he sorted through what was said. Josef and Elisabeth would be out riding the grounds tomorrow afternoon…surely there must be a way to gain some advantage through this.

And then it hit him. A plan for revenge so beautiful, so perfect. Josef wouldn't know, but he would and he would take delight in it through the years. Oh yes, he was going to have his revenge. Yes indeed.

* * *

The next afternoon found Josef and Elisabeth walking down to the stables. Elisabeth waited patiently while Josef saddled the horses, her cheerful countenance from yesterday still in place. Josef was thrilled. It had been a long time since he had seen Elisabeth so.

He finished the last strap and helped Elisabeth onto her horse, and then smoothly swung up onto Maelstrom. He kicked the horse into a walk, and he and Bess rode out into the day.

For hours their horses took them out onto the paths and fields of the estate. A light breeze was blowing. For a while they followed the path of a winding creek, listening to the sound of the flowing water as it bubbled over the rocks and stones in the streambed.

They talked and laughed amiably, lightly teasing each other. Josef felt relief from the responsibilities as heir to the duchy. It was nice to have time to just be a child. As the afternoon sun started to lower in the sky, they reluctantly turned their horses back towards the manor.

* * *

Maelstrom entered the stables at a quick trot, Elisabeth and Spade not far behind him. A light sheen of sweat gleamed on the horse's flank, but other than that, Maelstrom appeared no worse for the wear for his afternoon of exercise.

Josef dismounted and started to lead the mighty horse to his stall.

A shout caught his attention. He and Elisabeth both looked to the stable door in time to see Lucius hurrying through them. Lucius was panting, out of breath, "Josef…Friedrich…he's been hurt…he's asking for you…"

Josef's face paled. Elisabeth turned to her brother. "Go to him, Josef. I'll corral the horses."

Josef needed no second urging. He raced out of the stables heading towards the manor.

As soon as he was out of sight, Lucius shut the stable door, and dropped the wooden beam into place. Elisabeth's sudden terror-stricken face turned towards him in the dark. She was locked in.

* * *

Lucius had watched discreetly as Josef and Elisabeth returned from their ride. His hour of revenge, reached at last. His palms were slick with his anticipation of what was to come—his desires to be fulfilled. He ran his tongue out over his lips, moistening them. He had to time this right and wait until Josef was dismounted.

As he watched his half-sister ride into the stables (and, incidentally, her fate) behind her brother, Lucius suddenly felt an uncharacteristic hesitation. Did he really want to do this? For a brief second, Lucius saw what his life could be life if he just walked away now, if he let go of his anger and hatred.

He saw himself living the life of an honest, hardworking solider. He saw hard work, but rewards for his efforts—promotions and the respect of his peers and fellow men in the community. He saw himself eventually meeting a girl, falling in love, starting a family. Raising children. A father. A true home, with a wife who loved him. He saw himself…_happy._ And he knew, without a doubt, that this future could be his. All he had to do was to let go—to enter the stables, and saddle his horse and leave. He could do it…he could put this life behind him and start fresh…

And then his mother's last words rose unbidden in his mind…

_"Never let Friedrich forget that you are also his son."_

"_I won't. I promise."_

A tear slid down Lucius's cheek, and he hurled the vision of the future away. He could never have that life. He would keep his promise to his mother. The perceived wrongs against him surrounded him once more.

_The Duke forcing his mother to curtsy to him…_

_Not being able to say goodbye…to let her know he loved her…_

_Forced to play manservant to a child six years younger than him…taking his beatings…_

_Robbed of his inheritance…_

"_You are nothing more than a __**bastard**__, and everyone knows it."_

He drew his anger and hatred back around his soul like old friends, clinging to them. He was unredeemable, and it was foolish to think otherwise.

He could see that Josef had dismounted. He would have his revenge. It was time for him to take it.

* * *

The wooden beam dropped into place with an ominous echo. The blood drained from Elisabeth's face. She saw the shadow of Lucius's form moving towards her in the dark. A small, sick moan of terror rose up in her throat, as she felt the icy fingers of fear wrap themselves around her heart and squeeze.

Her voice, intended to be loud and forceful, came out in a cracked whisper, "Lucius…Lucius, what are you doing?" She only knew too well what he had planned, but a small, desperate part of her clung to the hope that she was wrong. A realization dawned on her. "Father isn't really hurt is he?"

"I've waited for this, Elisabeth."

Her voice rose, "Keep away from me!" She stumbled backwards, and Lucius slowly advanced.

"Poor little Elisabeth," Lucius whispered. "What will you do?"

A sob tore from her chest. Her back bumped into the far wall. There was no room left to retreat.

Elisabeth froze with panicked dread. She couldn't move, couldn't run. All she could do was watch helplessly, eyes wide and frightened as Lucius closed in, the wolf hunting the doe.

He was in front of her now. She opened her mouth to scream, but could only manage a choked gasp. Her chest heaved. Lucius covered her mouth with his hand. Up close, Elisabeth could see he had undone his belt as he walked towards her.

Lucius shoved her back hard against the wall, pushing her dress up off her legs. He hastily pulled down his breeches enough so that his erection could press against the soft flesh of her inner thigh.

Elisabeth bit him, hard.

Lucius yelped, and pulled his hand back. Elisabeth's teeth had broken skin, leaving a crescent shaped, bloody bite mark on the side of his hand. "You whore!" Lucius backhanded her.

He renewed his assault, faster and harder. He slid a hand up Elisabeth's chest, coming to grope at her breasts. He made no effort to be gentle, and his fingers pressed hard and brutal into the tender skin. Lucius covered her mouth with his, forcing his tongue past her lips—his breath hot upon her face.

Elisabeth cried silently, tear after tear running down her cheek. She struggled, but Lucius's grip was too strong for her to break. She closed her eyes, and tried to turn her face away.

Lucius savagely tore into her, hard and fast. In an instant he had stolen away Elisabeth's most precious gift. He pumped into her, moaning his pleasure as Elisabeth sobbed in terror. He climaxed with an animalistic, primal growl, and then practically collapsed on top of her. He let out a deep breath into Elisabeth's face and she gagged.

He stepped back, pulling out of his sister, and cleaning himself off as best he could. He fixed his breeches and buckled his belt. He moved to saddle the horse he had chosen earlier, paying no attention to Elisabeth, who had fallen to the floor.

Once the stallion was saddled, Lucius crossed the stable to an empty stall, and pulled out the small bundle of his possessions and his sword from where he had placed them earlier. He strapped them to the saddle, and then pulled the sword out from its sheath and turned back to face Elisabeth.

_My god, he's going to kill me…_She found death a welcome idea. He had taken everything that mattered from her.

Lucius strode forward and placed the flat of the blade against her neck. "I'm not going to kill you Elisabeth. But if you inform any soul of what happened here, I will return when least expected, and I will take this blade and I will shove it through Josef's heart. Nothing will stop me. Do you understand?"

Elisabeth's pale, tear-streaked face nodded. Lucius leaned in and snarled, "Promise to be silent."

"I…I pro-pro…I pro-promise."

"Good girl." Lucius sheathed the sword, securing it in place, and walked his horse to the stable entrance. He lifted the beam, opened the door, and mounted the horse. Then without so much as another glance behind him, he rode out, away from the estate and back towards town, towards the barracks.

The silver moonlight spilled into the stable, illuminating the broken and bleeding form pressed against the far wall.

Raped.

_Finis_

* * *

Thus ends Josef's childhood. We'll be returning to the present next chapter.

oh, this chapter broke my heart to write...poor Elisabeth! **: (**


	9. Frenzy

Hello readers! **: )**

Just a quick note to those of you who may have been trying to leave reviews on the last two chapters and were unable…it's because you already left a review for my author notes and FF allows only one logged-in review per chapter. I do accept anonymous reviews, and after this chapter, reviewing should return to normal. I want to thank those of you who PM'd me to let me know your thoughts about the last two updates.

Also, I have given Josef seven freshies, and their names are Mona, Christina, Emily, Maggie, Lauren, Courtney, and Fiona. A reminder to the events that happened in TBOABF—All of Josef's freshies were murdered by Damien Fay—an insane and evil ancient vampire. Josef felt strong guilt that he hadn't been able to protect them.

I have changed the name of a character—Josef's head of security—from Eli Mason to James Redmond. I'll be going back through my story today, to make the changes.

And lastly, a summarization of where we left off when last in the present: Josef is living the good life, and all is well. Mick and Beth are happily married, Beth is developing as a newbie vampire on track. Josef is teaching Beth how to fence, and she and Mick were planning to head to Josef's mansion in the evening for Beth to show Mick how far she had come, and also to ease his jealousy over Beth's and Josef's strictly platonic bond as sire/fledgling. The last chapter ended with Lucius calling Josef, making his presence and his intentions for revenge known.

Please forgive any typos!

Enjoy. **: )**

_Frenzy_

~_Los Angeles: Present Day~_

Mona hurried as fast as she could manage down the hallway of Josef's home, heading towards the freshie wing. Her heart was in her throat and pounding away at high speed. She felt dizzy from moving so quickly after Josef feeding from her, but her dizziness couldn't be helped. Josef had asked her to gather the girls, so she was.

Mona was pretty frightened. She didn't understand what the hell was going on. All she knew was that she had just finished supplying Josef with her sweet blood, and the next he was talking on his cell phone, angry and _pissed_. So angry in fact, that when she couldn't help but ask him what was going on, he had snapped at her—something Josef _never_ did. He always treated and talked to his freshies with the utmost respect. So when he had just _snapped_ at her, a low growl deep in his throat, Mona had been absolutely shocked. Josef's eyes had flashed at her, and the scariest thing about _that_ was Mona believed Josef hadn't even been aware that he had done so. _Something is seriously wrong…_ Never, never in a decade would Mona have ever expected Josef to act this way.

She reached the freshie wing. It was an entire wing of the mansion, set aside just for the seven girls Josef allowed to live permanently at his home. Mona had been so flattered when he had offered her a room. Josef was a demanding vampire, and picky in his tastes. To be selected as one of the seven was a high honor that wasn't lost on Mona.

The wing was made up of a dorm-like hallway, with seven spacious, luxurious bedrooms branching off. Each room was covered with thick, plush carpets…the softest that Mona had ever walked on…and each girl had her own king-size bed. _Too bad Josef doesn't allow us to bring men home…_Every girl also had their own large, private bathroom with Jacuzzi tub, and glass shower. The bathrooms were done in white marble and there was unlimited hot water available.

At the end of the hallway of rooms, was a space where the girls could relax. It was a moderate living room, filled with a long sofa along one wall, a big screen television, comfortable chairs, a bar—ferns and flowers made the room pleasant and cheerful. One wall was a giant window which looked out onto Josef's grounds. A door lead out to a small deck and to the freshies' own private swimming pool and hot tub, separate from the pool that branched off from the mansion's main living room.

With their living quarters coupled with the enthrallment highs from Josef feeding, one would be hard pressed to find other girls who had it better. They lived the dream life, and Mona had been lucky enough to stumble into it.

But now Josef had told Mona that the girls would need to leave for a while. He had said it wasn't permanent, _But he didn't say exactly how long we'd be gone either…_

Mona knew about the safe house Josef had mentioned. Josef made it very clear to his girls that by feeding him they were agreeing to accept a certain risk and element of danger in their lives. His girls were smart enough to know that this wasn't just talk—three years ago all of Josef's freshies had been murdered. It had been an eye-opener for the freshie community at the time…but most girls had fallen back into the comfortable routine—After all, it was someone else who had died, people they didn't even know. And who knew if the stories were true anyway?

But Josef had made it very clear to the girls when they moved in that the stories were true. He had told them that he couldn't promise that no danger would come to them, but he _had_ promised to protect them as best he could. That's when he had informed them of the safe house, and given each girl the address.

"If you ever feel threatened in any way, and need a safe place…go there," he had instructed. Mona had been grateful to know that he planned to look out for them, but thought that in all likelihood that the safe house would never be used. Well, it seems she was wrong.

She hurried down the hall, and knocked on Emily's door.

"Come in," Emily sang out.

Mona entered. Emily was playing music on her stereo, reading a fashion magazine on her bed. She was lying on her stomach, her ankles crossed in the air. She was one of Josef's more ditsy freshies, but she had a sweet heart. She smiled at Mona, but her smile faded as she picked up on Mona's worried air and expression.

"What's up? What's wrong, Mo?"

"Josef wants to see us in the living room. He's upstairs dressing right now, but he wants us all in there by the time he comes down. He needs to speak with us."

"What's going on?" Emily had an alarmed expression on her face. "Is he getting rid of us?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I don't have time to tell you. I've got to go get the others. Everyone's here, right?"

"Yeah. I think some of them are getting ready to go clubbing." Emily sat up on the bed and pouted. "This isn't some joke is it?"

"I wish it were. This is serious, Em. Josef wants us all in his living room, pronto."

She sighed, and tossed the magazine aside. "All right, all right." She moved off her bed, and Mona hurried off to the next bedroom.

By the time she and Fiona entered the living room, the other five girls were already there. Mona caught sight of Josef standing to one side, buttoning his shirt cuffs, talking urgently with James, his head of security. Josef was dressed entirely in black, and looked amazing. Mona also thought he looked a little calmer. As she passed by him to go sit on the sofa she heard him speaking softly to James, "Well, maybe three or four personnel can remain behind…but the majority must go with the girls. I need to know that they're protected…"

Mona and Fiona exchanged a significant look and joined the others who were fidgeting nervously on the sofa.

Josef crossed the room, to come stand in front of the girls. He put on foot up on the coffee table, and leaned forward, resting his arms on his knee. "Ladies, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to interrupt your evening plans."

Christina spoke up, "What's wrong, Josef?"

"An old enemy of mine has returned to town. He despises me with a passion and I hate every fiber of his being." Josef's eyes flashed. "He intends to resume our feud. This places all of you at risk."

This wasn't as shocking to Mona as it was to the other girls. Many of their faces had drained of color. Josef continued to speak. "I apologize for frightening you my dears. But the fact remains. It is no longer safe for you to live here. I told you all when I hired you that I have a safe house for my employees. I am sending you all there, along with my staff, until this crisis has passed."

Maggie asked quietly, "What if we don't want to go to the safe house, Josef?" Her entire form was trembling.

Josef turned a pair of sad eyes on her. "That is, of course, your right to choose. I will not force any of you to do anything except to leave this property. I offer you the use of the safe house. If you should decide not to accept, then I shall take that as your resignation. However, just because you no longer work for me, might not be enough of a reason to prevent an attack."

All the girls looked stricken. Josef's face softened. "It's only for a short time, my dears."

Lauren asked, concern lacing her voice. Every girl knew that she had the biggest crush on Josef. "But, Josef, how will you eat?"

"I ask you sweets to leave me some blood before you go. I can get by."

James came up and whispered something in Josef's ear. Josef nodded and said, "Good." He turned back to the freshies, "I'm giving you girls three hours to pack and donate. Not a minute more. Go." He dismissed them, and turned back to James.

The seven of them scrambled from the sofa, hurrying off to the freshie wing to pack—All thoughts of clubbing forgotten.

* * *

Josef watched as his girls left the living room. It was easy enough to detect their emotions. All were scared—frightened for both themselves and for him. _Good. They realize how serious this is._

He turned back to James. "Call Scott—get him here within the hour to help with the freshies' transfusions." Scott ran the private clinic Josef kept for his employees. A freshie couldn't always go to a hospital…not if there were bite marks.

"Scott is already on his way, sir."

"Good. Have him set up in here." Josef pulled out his cell phone, as he walked out of the living room. "I'll be in my study, James."

"Yes, sir." Redmond returned to organizing the security.

Josef moved briskly down the hall and into his study—cell phone in hand. He needed to call Beth, tell her to stay away for a few days. But he had to be careful. He knew his fledgling, he would have to give her an excuse that wouldn't incite her curiosity. There was no way in hell Beth would stay away if he told her the truth. She would rush to his side to protect him—her fledgling need to defend her sire would override her common sense. Josef would not, _could not_, have even a single drop of her blood on his hands.

He leaned against his desk, absentmindedly staring down at his phone while he thought of what to say. Finally he dialed. Knowing her schedule, he called Beth's work phone.

She answered on the third ring. "Beth Turner speaking."

"Hey Blondie, it's me."

Beth's voice lit up. "Josef!"

Josef hated to take away the joy in her voice but it had to be done. "Beth, listen, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our fencing lessons for a while."

Sure enough, Beth's voice when she spoke next was laced with disappointment. "How come? Mick was going to come with me tonight so he could see how far I've progressed."

"Beth, you're doing amazing for a novice. But an emergency has come up at work that requires my personal attention."

"What kind of emergency?"

Josef thought quickly. "There's a risk I may lose a big client. Beth, it could cost me millions of dollars." _Damned reporter curiosity._ "I'm sorry, Beth, but I'm going to have to bail on you."

"Okay, I guess. I understand." Josef heard the hurt in her voice, and it killed him that he had put it there.

He hastened to reassure his fledgling. Beth was still very young for a vampire, and yearned for her sire's approval. "Blondie, this has nothing to do with you, all right? This is about me and my work. I wish there was a way we could still practice."

"Really, Josef?" Beth's voice sounded a little brighter.

"Really. This is not your fault. I'm sorry we can't fence."

Beth's voice returned to normal. "All right. I'll just practice the drills at home."

"I'd expect nothing less. Remember your grip."

"Will do. Bye Josef."

"Good-bye." Josef hung up. _That's one thing taken care of._ The sense of relief he felt at knowing that Beth wouldn't be coming out here tonight was palpable. _Lucius must never find out about Beth._ _Never._

He slipped his phone into his pocket and started to pace his study, wondering what he would say to Mick.

* * *

Beth hung up her desk phone at her work station at Buzzwire, her hopes effectively crushed for the evening. She had been really looking forward to showing Mick how far she'd come since her first match with Josef—and of course, as a fledgling she had been looking forward to seeing her sire. Beth still felt the urge to see him every few days.

She was sometimes still surprised by that particular fledgling need. She had been shocked by it when first turned. She would panic the minute she realized Josef was no longer in the room with her, and stumble around his home until she found him again, Mick by her side, supporting her. _Mick…he was so understanding…_A single negative word from Josef had been enough to reduce her to tears, while praise had made her ecstatic.

The worst incident was when the fledgling sex urges had kicked in. Mick hadn't been in the room. Josef had been working at his desk, and Beth stretched out on the small sofa in the study. Beth remembered all of a sudden feeling _strongly_ aroused, and before she even realized what she was doing, she had jumped Josef at his desk.

Josef had swiftly broken her kiss. "Ah, Beth, this is the one phase of your development I am not to be a part of." Josef led her out of the study. "Mick!" he called.

Mick stuck his head out of the billiards room. "Yeah, Josef?"

Josef waved a hand at Beth, and Mick understood. A smile spread across his face. Josef said, "Have fun you kids," and gave Beth a little push towards Mick. Beth had needed little urging—her arousal had been rolling off her in huge waves. Josef's view before he returned to his study and shut the door (making it effectively soundproof) was the sight of Beth jumping Mick, her movements frantic for her desires to be fulfilled. And Mick, looking very pleased to fill them.

Remembering the incident always turned Beth's face scarlet. After she and Mick had made mind-blowing sex for her first time as a vampire, Beth came back to herself and realized what she had done. She had burst into tears.

"Beth, was it really that bad?" Mick had teased, stroking her cheek. He had a feeling he knew why she was upset, and it pleased him greatly, reassuring him where Beth's affections truly lied.

"Mick, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me…but downstairs, with Josef…Mick…I'm sorry…I kissed him. I don't know why I did such a thing." Beth's tear stricken eyes locked with his anxiously, searching for his reaction to her words.

"It's okay, Beth. It was the first time you felt the vampire sex drive. I know you didn't mean it."

Beth's relief at Mick's understanding had swept through the room. "I know you and Josef had warned me that the cravings would be kicking in soon, and that they would be strong, I just didn't realize how strong."

Mick chuckled. "No newly turned vampire does. I'm not mad, Beth. Come on Beautiful, wipe those tears away before you do irreparable damage to my ego."

Beth laughed, and wiped her hand at her face. Mick caught her hand in his and slowly started to suck on her fingertips. It was enough to set Beth off again and they had happily engaged themselves for the rest of the afternoon.

Those early months of being a fledgling had quickly flown by. Beth was proud of how far she had come. She loved the two men in her life—Josef as a father, brother and friend—Mick as her partner, lover and soul mate. So when Josef had called just now, informing her he needed to take care of things at work, Beth had been hugely disappointed.

Beth wondered at the call. Josef's tone of voice certainly sounded like he was dealing with a crisis…it was just…There was something off about the entire conversation. Beth questioned whether Josef had been completely honest with her. Beth's instincts told her something bigger was going on than just a simple work emergency. She always trusted her instincts. Josef's brief split-second hesitation when Beth had asked him what kind of crisis was happening was telling. _Of course, Beth, he could have also been deciding whether or not it was prudent to let you know sensitive information…_

The explanation made sense… but Beth's nagging instincts wouldn't go away. She picked up her phone again and dialed the number she knew by heart.

"Hello Beautiful."

"Hi Mick."

"Beth, are you okay? Is anything wrong?" Her husband must have been able to detect the sadness in her voice.

"I'm fine baby…It's Josef. I just got off the phone with him. He's canceled our lessons for a while."

"How come?" Mick sounded surprised.

"He said an emergency at work had arisen—something about how an important client was going to walk out and how he needed to see to this personally."

"That sounds like a legitimate excuse, Beth. I'm sure he didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"I know. But Mick, you didn't hear his voice. I think something much bigger is going on that Josef's not telling me. I got the sense that he wasn't giving me the truth. Mick, could you swing by his work sometime tonight and see for yourself what's going on?"

"Yeah, I can do that. I'll stop by his building in a couple of hours."

"Thanks Mick. I love you."

"I love you too, Beth. I'll see you when you get home from work."

"Yeah. Bye, baby."

Beth hung up. Already she was feeling a bit better. Mick would check things out—make sure Josef was okay. _You probably just overreacted, Beth…_With a sigh, Beth returned to her work. Mick would stop by Josef's for her and let her know how her sire was doing.

* * *

Lucius leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk in front of him, watching the array of monitors. He chuckled to himself. He hadn't been so entertained for a long time.

On his computer screens he had watched Josef address his freshies, (lovely girls, but Lucius wasn't interested in them) and congratulated himself on his idea to set up hidden cameras outside of Josef's home and downtown office so he could watch his little brother's every move. He grinned. Though the study blinds were closed, with his sharp vampiric vision Lucius could make out a shadow moving back and forth across the inner edge of the blinds. _Josef's pacing_…

He had waited a long time, but now his patience was going to pay off. He watched the shadow on the screen. _I'm coming for you…_

_Finis_


	10. First Moves

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Moonlight.**

All right, another update. Everyone should be able to review again now. Many, many heartfelt thanks to those who left reviews and PM'd me for the last chapter! **: )**

Please forgive any typos!

Enjoy. ** : )**

_First Moves_

Mick finished typing up his notes on a case, and glanced at the clock. It was time to head over to Josef's downtown office to see what the heck was going on. Mick was a little confused.

His wife had called him, sounding very worried and much more upset than she had let on; asking him if he would please go downtown and make sure Josef was all right. Mick had agreed, but his inner vampire was roused and it was not pleased. Jealousy snaked an ugly path through his chest. _All this over a canceled fencing lesson?_ Mick tried his best to shove his envy aside. He knew it was unflattering, and unfounded. Beth was faithful to him, Josef as well. He knew this. But it just wasn't in the vampire's nature to tolerate other men in Beth's life, and try as he might, he couldn't completely squash the feelings.

Mick pulled on his duster, and grabbed the keys to his Mercedes. He would make just a quick stop at Josef's office, talk to his friend, and then maybe stop by the morgue. His units were running a little on the low side.

As Mick drove to the business district of L.A., he thought of what Beth had said over the phone. _"Mick, you didn't hear his voice. I think something much bigger is going on that Josef's not telling me. I got the sense that he wasn't giving me the truth."_ Mick snorted to himself, it certainly wouldn't be the first time Josef hadn't told the complete story, but Mick thought Josef's explanation sounded plausible enough. Emergencies such as this one had happened before, and Josef always disappeared for a few days to take care of them.

Mick pulled up to the front of the Josef's building. It seemed calm enough from the street. But that meant nothing. Mick stepped out of the Mercedes and crossed the street, entering the main lobby. He would take the elevator up to Josef's office, speak with his friend, (most likely piss the hell out of him if he was dealing with work) and then would make himself scarce and report back to Beth that all was well. Just a simple mistake, a fledgling overreacting…

* * *

Lucius took a sip of B positive from his glass, watching the computer monitors. He had set up four cameras outside of Josef's home, and two outside of his little brother's office building. Lucius had been staking out Josef's schedule for weeks. It had been slow going, as Lucius had to be extremely careful not to reveal himself—Josef did have very tight security.

But though it hadn't been easy, in the end Lucius had seen enough of Josef's patterns of behavior to know when a good time to place the cameras would be. He had simply waited until Josef had left for work one night, and then had placed the cameras on the edges of Josef's property, zoomed-in on the house, and well-hidden.

It had been more difficult to place the cameras outside of Josef's office…there were more people around during the day, and at night Josef would be there. But luck had been with him—a rather large car accident drew attention away from a non-descript man lingering at the scene. Lucius had managed to secure the cameras.

He wanted to know Josef's every move. He had underestimated his brother in the past—this time he was determined. There would be no mistakes. He had set up his computers in an old, run-down office that he had rented from a surprised owner. He had paid more than it was worth and the owner was happy enough not to ask questions. The arrangement suited Lucius.

His phone rang. Lucius turned away from the computer screens to see who it was. So it was that he missed a tall, dark-haired man, wearing a long coat enter Josef's office building.

* * *

Mick stood in Josef's office. _Beth was right…You are so busted, old man._ The office was empty, quiet. There were no signs that Josef was even in the building.

When Mick had entered, the lobby had been as it always was, but that wasn't strange in the slightest. However, when the elevator had opened to the expensive marble hallway that led to Josef's office—_that_ had been strange. The hall was empty, silent. Except for the quiet typing of Josef's secretary, there was no one around. Mick had dropped by Josef's work before during a crisis, and there had always been people hurrying to and fro from Josef's office, while his friend sat in the center of it, barking orders.

Mick stared around now at the deserted office. _Why did you lie to Beth? Let's see if you'll lie to me as well…_

Mick pulled out his phone, and dialed Josef's personal cell number.

Josef answered on the first ring, "What, Mick?" he snapped.

_Beth was also right about his voice…he's really worked up over something. But what?_

"I got a call from Beth earlier tonight, Josef. She said you had an emergency at work, and was canceling her lessons until it could be resolved."

Josef sounded a little less snappish when he answered, but Mick could clearly hear the tension in his friend's voice. "That's right. Something's come up and I have to handle it."

_Yup, lied to me too. Time to call your bluff._ "Really, Josef? That's funny you say you're handling a crisis at work…because I'm standing in your office right now, and there doesn't seem to be much of crisis."

There was silence on the line for a moment, and then Josef exploded in a rather colorful mixture of German and English.

"Want to tell me what's going on, Josef?" Mick asked.

"No. Get the fuck out of my office Mick, and stay away from it. It's not safe there for you." Josef sounded really pissed…pissed and…_Worried. Scared. He's scared for me…He really thinks I'm in danger here. Why?_

Mick was confused. How could he possibly be in danger here? Josef had state of the art security for his downtown office. Surely it was one of the safest places Mick could be?

"Tell me what's going on, Josef. Why did you lie to Beth? And to me?"

"Mick, I don't have time for this. I lied to Beth to protect her—same as why I lied to you. You and Beth need to stay away from me for a while. I don't want you involved."

"Involved in _what_, Josef?"

"Just stay away for now, all right? Get out of my office. And if you want to keep Beth from danger, then you tell her that there's nothing wrong, and it's just a work crisis."

"I can't lie to my wife!"

Josef clearly was at the end of his rope. He lost it, and snapped at Mick. "Fine! Tell her the truth. Tell her I lied and there is no crisis…and when you can't stop Beth from seeking me out, and she gets killed in the crossfire, don't you dare place the blame at my feet."

"Josef…"

"No, I'm done talking, Mick. I have things to do. Tell Beth the truth or lie. You decide." The line went dead. Josef had hung up.

Mick stood stunned in Josef's office. _Shit! What the fuck is wrong with him?_

He considered Josef's words. _"Fine! Tell her the truth. And when you can't stop Beth from seeking me out and she gets killed in the crossfire, don't you dare place the blame at my feet." _ Mick didn't like the sound of that at all. His inner vampire bared his fangs at the image of Beth, concerned over another man, running to defend him.

_Beth doesn't need to know about this…It will only upset her. I certainly don't want her in danger. _ Mick didn't like the idea of lying to his wife, but if it meant keeping Beth safe he would do it in a heartbeat. He turned on his heel and left Josef's office. He wasn't finished with the old man, but first he had to talk to Beth.

* * *

Josef had been about to dial Mick, when his phone rang. _It's uncanny how he does that…_ Josef thought. He answered quickly, "What, Mick?" _Too snappish, Josef. Tone it down or you're going to tip him off._

Thankfully, Mick didn't comment on his tone. "I got a call from Beth earlier tonight, Josef. She said you had an emergency at work, and was canceling her lessons until it could be resolved."

Alternative feelings of relief and worry swept through him. Relief that he could just expand the lie he had told Beth to include Mick, and worry because it seemed as though Beth hadn't entirely bought it. _It's the damned bond. She can sense something is wrong…_ He answered Mick, careful to keep his voice from giving anything away. "That's right. Something's come up and I have to handle it."

He wasn't prepared for what Mick said next. "Really, Josef? That's funny you say you're handling a crisis at work…because I'm standing in your office right now, and there doesn't seem to be much of crisis."

_Fuck! You bastard. You set me up!_ He couldn't contain his anger and expletives shot from his mouth. _I don't have time for this._

"Want to tell me what's going on, Josef?" Mick's voice sounded exasperated.

_Hell, no. I do not want to tell you. _Another thought, _Mick's at my office? What if Lucius shows up there?_ His voice was curt with anger and worry. "No. Get the fuck out of my office, Mick and stay away from it. It's not safe there for you." _Please, for once in your unlife, just do as I say._

Mick was sounding more and more confused by the second. "Tell me what's going on, Josef? Why did you lie to Beth? And to me?"

Josef wanted to scream. He couldn't be arguing with Mick right now. He needed this conversation over. Why wasn't Mick listening to him? "Mick, I don't have time for this. I lied to Beth to protect her—same as why I lied to you. You and Beth need to stay away from me for a while. I don't want you involved." _Please, Mick. Please just drop this._

No such luck. "Involved in _what_, Josef?"

_I can't handle this right now. Every second he's there, he's in danger._ "Just stay away for now, all right? Get out of my office. And if you want to keep Beth from danger, then you tell her that there's nothing wrong, and it's just a work crisis."

Mick's voice was shocked, angry. "I can't lie to my wife!"

It was the last straw. _Fuck this conversation._ Josef snapped, "Fine! Tell her the truth. Tell her I lied and there is no crisis…and when you can't stop Beth from seeking me out, and she gets killed in the crossfire, don't you dare place the blame at my feet." The image of Beth laid out pale and still flashed through his brain, leaving icy fear in its wake.

"Josef…"

But Josef had had it. He was finished with this. "No, I'm done talking, Mick. I have things to do. Tell Beth the truth or lie. You decide." He angrily hung up the phone. _Just great, Kostan. You handled that really fucking well._

He left his study, his dark mood swirling and flowing around him. He crossed to the entrance of the living room. Lauren was lying back on the sofa, Scott was drawing and bottling her blood. _At least that's going smoothly_, Josef thought. James was talking on the phone, and Josef caught his eye, his expression making it clear that he wanted to talk to his bodyguard. Redmond quickly wrapped up the conversation he was having and came over to where Josef stood.

"Yes, sir?"

Josef said quietly, "Once all the girls are finished donating, take them to the safe house, along with the house staff, and security. Leave four men behind to watch the mansion. I'm going to my office downtown. I need to speak with Ryder."

"I'll see to it that everyone arrives alive and intact, Josef."

"Thank you, James. I have my phone."

James nodded and Josef turned and left, heading for his garage. He needed to see Ryder England. Maybe his techie could trace the number, or dig up something on Lucius in L.A. Either way, he needed to be at his office.

He backed his Ferrari out of his drive, and then shifted gear, roaring off down the street.

* * *

"Yes, that will be satisfactory. I'll drop by for the key tomorrow." Lucius hung up the telephone. It had been the realtor letting him know about the property Lucius had acquired out in the desert.

It was a small, adobe house, a couple of hours outside of Los Angeles. It's isolated spot suited his needs perfectly, right down to the small, dirty basement.

Lucius had filed a rental application under a false identity, and had waited patiently to hear back from the realtor. Now his patience was being rewarded. The place was his, and he would be able to take possession in a few days. What to do till then however…

Lucius watched, an amused smirk on his face, as Josef left his house. Lucius knew he would probably show up at his office in a few minutes. _I think I'll have some fun messing with your head first, little brother._ The idea had immense appeal. _Get him so on edge, he can't think straight. Watch him suffer._ Lucius smiled, his fangs gleaming in the darkness.

_Yes, that is what I shall do._

_

* * *

  
_

Ryder swallowed nervously. Mr. K was hovering and Ryder didn't like it. His boss was super tense, coiled tightly. Ryder was smart enough to know that he could go off any minute.

Josef had stormed into his office an hour ago, a dark look on his face, and murder in his air. His employee's wisely scattered before him, sensing it best to keep a safe distance away and pray that Josef didn't want to see them.

Unfortunately for Ryder, Josef _had_ wanted to see him. He had dragged Ryder up to his main office and had set the younger vampire to running a trace on a phone number as well as on a general search for a vampire recently come to town.

Now an hour later Ryder had the results. He knew Josef wasn't going to like them. He approached his boss hesitantly. _Please don't kill the messenger._ Josef was slumped moodily in his chair, his brow furrowed as he glared out at the city skyline.

"Uh…Mr. K?" Ryder gulped.

Josef swung around to fix his stare upon him.

"No hits came up on 'Lucius Konstantin' sir. If he's in the city, he's here under a different name."

Josef said nothing but continued to stare at his underling.

Ryder continued nervously, "I traced the number you gave me. He called from a prepaid cell phone. He could be anywhere with it. I'm sorry, sir." Ryder finished, wincing, expecting the worst.

To his immense relief, Josef only said, "That will be all Ryder. Stay in the building in case I need you again."

"Sure thing, Mr. K." Ryder high-tailed it out of the office, extremely thankful his head was still intact with the rest of his body.

* * *

Josef watched Ryder leave, and then turned his stare back out to the night and the city. He wasn't really surprised that Mr. England hadn't been able to turn up anything. He knew Lucius was clever.

Still, it was a hard blow. Josef would have to wait for Lucius to make the next move. He hated not being in control of the situation. He glowered at the skyline. Somewhere out there was his most dangerous enemy.

And Josef didn't have a clue where he was.

_Finis_

_

* * *

_

Please review, let me you what you think! **: ) **Reviews keep me inspired.


	11. Fool of a Freshie

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Moonlight**_._

**A/N:** My chapter title is a play on a line of dialog from _The Lord of the Rings_. Gandalf says to Pippin, "You fool of a Took!" It's one of my favorite lines from the movies. I'm a huge Tolkien fan.

**A/N2:** Bala Baluk is a real place.

Many, many sincere thanks to my readers and reviewers! Thank you all so much. Every comment received is treasured.

Please forgive typos, and as always…

Enjoy! **: )**

_Fool of a Freshie_

Mick was seated in his armchair, a glass of fresh blood on hand for Beth for when she returned home. She was due any second. Though he knew it would be unlikely in the extreme, Mick hoped that Beth had moved past her fears for Josef—but he figured the chances of that were next to none. Mick thought maybe he could try to distract Beth—though he knew that also had slim odds for success. Beth was still a fledgling, still strongly bonded with Josef, and there would be little Mick could do to keep her from the topic of her sire if she thought Josef was in some sort of danger.

_He certainly sounded rattled. I've never heard him like this before. _Mick wondered what the hell was going on with his friend. Josef had lied to him, and to Beth, and had asked Mick to lie to Beth as well. Mick had been angry at the request at first, but his anger had faded when he had considered Josef's position. _She's his fledgling. He's bonded to her as much as she is to him. He would never forgive himself if she was hurt on his account. He only wants me to lie to protect her…_ Mick understood the need to protect Beth. It was why he had decided to go along with Josef's request. He would lie to his wife, and hopefully he would be able to keep her in the dark until things settled with Josef.

But while Mick intended for Beth to remain unaware of what was happening, he was determined to get answers from his friend. It seemed to him that Josef needed help, and it stung a little that Josef had so blatantly told him to keep out of it. He was resolved that at the next opportunity that presented itself, he would corner the old man and demand answers.

Any further musings were cut off as he heard the elevator 'ping' and footsteps in the hall. The scent of a newly-turned reached him. _Beth's home._ Mick took a deep breath. _Okay. Keep cool._

The apartment door clicked open and Beth stepped inside, shutting it behind her. She set her keys on the countertop.

Mick rose from the armchair, Beth's glass of blood in hand. He moved to stand behind her in the kitchen. "Hey, babe. How was work?" He handed Beth the glass.

She drank deeply from it before answering, "Work was fine. Mick, how's Josef? Did you see him?"

Mick tried stalling. "How are you, Beth? Are you okay, sweetheart? You look too pale, even for a vampire."

Beth waved her hand. "I'm all right. I'm just sick with nerves. Mick, tell me now, _please_. Is Josef in danger?"

There was no avoiding it. _Forgive me, Beth. This is for your own good._ "Beth, he's fine. I dropped by his office like you asked. It's as he said, there's just a crisis in his business right now that requires his time and attention. Josef asked me to reassure you that he's okay." Mick felt like an asshole. _How can I lie to her?_ He reminded himself it was for Beth's protection.

Relief filled Beth's expression. Mick saw her shoulders relax, heard her breath ease, and her heart rate calm. He could see the tension drain from her body at his words.

"Truly, Mick?"

Mick's inner vampire was furious at Beth's reaction. It did not like Beth being so concerned over another man. Mick found it extremely easy to lie this time. "Truly, Beth. Josef's fine."

* * *

_Three days later…_

Mona sighed and tossed her magazine aside, turning her attention to look out the window of her bedroom in the safe house. Down below she could see security patrolling the grounds. The sky was overcast, in stark contrast to this morning, when it had been sunny. Now, dark storm clouds were gathering. The weather was fickle today.

She watched as the wind blew the leaves of the tree outside her window, and thought about the past two days. The girls and Josef's staff had all been securely moved to the safe house, arriving without incident. The ride over had been extremely tense. Lauren and Courtney had both been in tears, while Emily, Fiona and herself had all been tight with anxiety. Maggie and Christina hadn't given a hint about how they were handling things, but Mona thought they were on edge. The car ride over had been silent except for the squawking of security's radios. Mona had curled her hands into fists—she was terrified. She didn't deal well with fear. She was expecting an attack at any minute.

But no such attack came. Once they had arrived and settled in, the girls had all gathered together in Fiona's bedroom. She was the oldest of the freshies and had been with Josef the longest. The girls found a comfortable spot in her room, either on her bed, or on the floor with a throw pillow. Mona had straddled the desk chair—Fiona sat in her room's window seat. At first, the girls had been hesitant to talk, but slowly they had found their voices.

Lauren had been the one to really get them going, "Do you think Josef's going to be okay?" She bit her lip and picked at the carpet.

Maggie said, "To hell with Josef. He's 400 years old. He can take care of himself. What about us? Are _we_ going to be okay?"

Her response was met with the girls chucking throw pillows and flip flops at her, along with indignant choruses of, "How can you say that?" "That's an awful thing to say, Mags." "Shut up, Maggie." Both Fiona and Mona stayed silent.

Maggie sniffed at the other girls. "What? It's true."

Emily snapped, "You could at least try to pretend you care, Mags. Ever since Josef turned you down you've been bitter. It's a wonder he still keeps you."

"How dare you!" Maggie shrieked, blushing red as a tomato. Emily was, of course, referring to the time Josef had politely turned down Maggie's offer for sex. Not that Josef didn't sleep with his freshies from time to time, (Mona had once heard him when talking to Mick, refer to feeding as, 'A good sucking and fucking,' trying to make St. John squirm.) but that night, for whatever reasons, he hadn't been in the mood. Maggie had felt humiliated, though Josef had given her no cause for embarrassment.

Fiona spoke up, "Christina's right, Mags. You need to shut up. If you're still upset over that, maybe you should resign."

Maggie fell silent, but remained glaring at the other girls. The conversation died briefly and then Courtney asked, "What do you think he's doing right now?"

Lauren answered, "I heard him tell James that he was going into his office." She had drawn her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "He said something about needing to talk to Ryder."

The girls all nodded knowingly. The techie was a familiar face and well-liked by them all. Mona had always found it extremely cute how nervous he became around Josef's freshies.

The conversation had deteriorated to speculating about how long they were going to have to stay at the safe house. Some thought a couple of days. Christina had only thought until the rest of the night. "I bet Josef is taking care of this right now."

Mona joined the conversation for the first time. "I don't know about that, Chrissy." She spoke quietly, but everyone's attention turned to her.

"What do you mean, Monica?" Emily asked, fiddling with her hands.

"I mean, you guys didn't see Josef when this Lucius vamp called him. Josef almost seemed scared."

A few girls had laughed before realizing Mona wasn't joking. Courtney gaped at her, "You can't be serious? Josef's not afraid of anything."

"I can and I am. I'm deadly serious. You all weren't there. I was right behind Josef when the call came in. I'm telling you, his entire body language changed. He lost his temper in less than thirty seconds. He flashed his fangs at me, in anger—he lost his composure."

The girls had looked at her, stunned. Fiona backed Mona up, "Why do you guys think Josef can't be frightened? He has emotions."

Maggie whispered, "It's _Josef_, Fiona. I've never thought Josef could be scared of _anything_." The others nodded their heads to Maggie's statement.

Fiona had snapped, "Well, that's just dumb thinking."

The room had fallen silent once more. After a few more half-hearted comments, the girls had split up. Mona stayed behind, moving from the chair to Fiona's bed.

"Did he really flash his fangs at you, Mona?"

"That's not half as scary as the thought that I don't think he even realized he did it. Fiona, I'm worried about him."

Fiona had moved over to her bed, pulling Mona into half a hug. "I'm worried too."

Now, two days later after their arrival, things didn't look any closer to being solved than before. Josef kept away from the safe house—if Lucius was watching him, he didn't want to give the house's position up. He had called James a few times—everyone trying to listen in, but to no avail. James kept them up-to-date, but gave them no details. However last night Mona had overheard a brief part of a phone conversation, with whom she could only assume was Josef.

"—two calls in two days isn't a good sign—" James had moved off, and Mona hadn't felt comfortable following. Instead she had hurried upstairs to share what she had heard with Fiona. They had decided to keep this bit of information with themselves.

Mona had just been beginning to calm down, when what she had heard last night had stirred her all up again. _This Lucius is messing with Josef's head. I hope Josef's okay._ Mona had thought about calling Mick, but Fiona had advised against it, and Monica tended to agree. _I'm sure Mick's knee-deep in this mess. He probably doesn't have time to deal with a worried freshie right now._ The thought did not cross her mind that Mick might not be involved.

Mona felt helpless, and she hated feeling that way. She was making herself sick with worry. _It's been three days. Josef hasn't solved this…what if he can't?_ She felt a few tears well in her eyes, and she blinked them back, surprised at herself.

Her stomach grumbled. She decided to go downstairs and raid the kitchen—there was some cookie dough in the freezer.

As she sat at the counter licking her spoon, a sudden thought flashed through her mind. _Our blood must be getting stale by now. I wonder how much Josef has left?_ She tried to shove the thought aside, but it kept coming back to her…_Josef hates stale blood._ Josef should have fresh blood so that his wits could be as sharp as possible.

She was quieter than normal for the rest of the evening. Fiona noticed. "Are you okay?"

"Just a little tired," Mona said. A course of action had occurred to her, but she didn't know if she dared follow through. _What if Josef gets mad?_

She locked herself in her room, and paced a little. She wanted to see Josef. It was driving her crazy not knowing how he was doing. At the same time she could supply him with a fresh meal, and be back at the safe house before anyone discovered her absence.

Mona made up her mind. She crossed to her dresser and changed into a dark colored shirt. She laced up her sneakers and turned to her window. After checking below to make sure security wasn't around, she slid the window up quietly, and swung herself onto the tree branch. The branch groaned a bit, but held her weight.

Mona climbed down the tree, landing softly on the grass lawn. Hurriedly, she sprinted up the front path and through the gate. She headed down the dark street, her heart pounding with fear. She was fully aware of the risk she was taking, and the danger she was in. But she had to see Josef. _I have to make sure he's okay._

She hailed a cab, and instructed him to drive her out to the mansion.

* * *

Josef was exhausted.

He sat behind his desk, propping his head in his hands as he massaged his temples. Lucius had seemingly moved to a new step in his plan for revenge—harassment. His older brother had called him four more times, two of those calls being tonight, and one which Josef had just ended two hours ago. He tiredly thought over the conversation.

_"Hello, little brother. How are you tonight?"_

"_Lucius, why are you doing this? Our feud was at rest. Why drag it all up again?"_

_Lucius's dark voice growled through Josef's cell phone, "I've never stepped back from our fight, and I never will until I have your head on a spike. You killed Nadia."_

_Josef could feel his own fury surging in his chest. He snapped, "Well, maybe if you hadn't tortured me until I was feral from hunger and pain, when Nadia returned for me, I wouldn't have snapped her neck once freed."_

"_Don't you __**ever**__ speak her name!" Lucius shouted. "You remember what happened in Afghanistan? Well, little brother, what I have in store for you this time, is a thousand times worse. I'll be coming to get you soon enough. If I were you, I'd watch my back, Jos—"_

_Josef had slammed shut his phone, hanging up before Lucius could finish._

Did he remember what had happened in the desert outside of Bala Baluk? Oh yes, he did. He would never be able to forget the suffering he had endured out there in the sands of Afghanistan. He couldn't possibly believe that Lucius had cooked up something even worse than what he had already undergone.

As always, when he thought of the middle eastern country, Josef thought of Nadia. The most he had ever seen of the Muslim woman's features had been her almond-shaped, dark eyes—always looking down on him with pity. A black scarf covered the rest of her head. Josef never did see her face.

Guilt over her actions rose in him briefly. She had saved his life, and he had thanked her by killing her, to make Lucius hurt emotionally the way he hurt physically. It had worked. _Apparently, too well._ Now it seemed Lucius was back to avenge his love. _Great. Just perfect._

And if all this wasn't enough, Josef also had to deal with Mick. His friend kept calling, more than Lucius, demanding to know what the heck was going on. Josef had just got off the phone with him.

_"Josef, what in hellfire is wrong? Do you realize how bizarre you're acting? I lied to Beth, but she can still sense your emotions through the bond. She's starting to get suspicious._ _I can't keep her the dark forever."_

"_For the last time, Mick—Stay. The. Fuck. Outta. This!" Josef snarled into his phone, and hung up on Mick too._

He hated that he and Mick were at odds with each other. The elder vampire had thought about bringing Mick into the loop, he could certainly use the help—but the terror of what Lucius would do to his friend if he ever found out about him, kept Josef strong in his decision not to involve Mick and Beth. They both had innocence to them that Josef had long, _long_ ago lost. Josef didn't want to see his friends lose theirs. He was wise enough to know that innocence in today's world was precious. So he left Mick in the dark.

He was hungry. The blood his freshies had left him was about a third gone. Josef had it cooled, but it was still starting to taste a little old. _Maybe I'll mix in some scotch…_

He rose and started to cross to his liquor cabinet, when a soft knock sounded on his office door.

"Enter," he called, a little surprised. His employees had been avoiding him like the plague, scared for their necks. After all, Josef wasn't in the best of moods.

The door swung open, revealing one of the last persons Josef had thought might be standing on the other side.

It was his freshie, Monica.

* * *

Mona had caught a taxi back to Josef's mansion. But when the cab pulled up to his home, Mona thought it looked like he wasn't there. The lights of the mansion were off, and the gate was shut.

She glanced at the fare—it was at twenty dollars. She only had fifty on her. She asked the driver to take her to Kostan Industries.

"Sure thing, miss."

Soon they were pulling up in front of Josef's building. Mona paid her fare and stepped out onto the sidewalk, stepping back a little to gaze up to the top floor to locate Josef's office window. Light blazed forth from it. _He must be there._

She hurriedly moved up the front steps and entered the building.

* * *

Lucius pulled his feet from the desk, and sat up straighter, leaning forward intently. He recognized the young lady who had just entered Josef's work. _She was at Josef's house. She's a freshie._

Lucius was excited. This was the break he had been waiting for. _She would know Josef's alarm code,_ he thought with a savage grin. He had an idea that would rattle Josef so bad, his little brother would hardly know which way to turn.

Lucius rose from the chair, and pulled on his long coat. He grabbed what he would need, and left his tiny office, locking it behind him.

He drove to Josef's office building. _This is going to be fun…_

* * *

Beth was upstairs showering. As she rinsed shampoo from her hair, she tried to ignore the tight feeling in her stomach. She was worried. The more days passed, the more she became sure that something was wrong with Josef.

She trusted her husband. Mick only seemed a little worried. But he didn't have the fledgling insight that she had with Josef. He couldn't sense what she could through the connection she shared with her sire.

Josef was agitated. He was worried. And worst of all he was angry and…Beth hesitated to believe this…but she also thought that the older vampire might be a little scared as well. And that frightened Beth. Josef was the most powerful and toughest vampire she had yet to meet. He was badass. If he was scared, they were all fucked.

She finished her shower quickly. She wanted to speak with Mick about this again.

She toweled her hair off, and threw on a blouse and pair of jeans. She went downstairs. Mick was in his office on the phone. She put her hand on the doorknob, starting to open the door, when she froze, overhearing part of what Mick was saying.

" … to Beth, but she can still sense your emotions through the bond. She's starting to get suspicious. I can't keep her the dark forever."

Beth couldn't hear who was on the other line, but she had a strong suspicion. She heard Mick hang up the phone, muttering "Goddamnit, Josef," under his breath. A second later he pulled the office door open, nearly colliding with her. His expression was startled. Clearly he hadn't realized she had been standing there. "Beth…" he said.

"Don't you 'Beth' me. Keep me in the dark about _what?_" Beth hissed. In an instant, her blue eyes flooded to silver, and her fangs dropped.

Mick backed up, hands in the air. "Honey, I can explain."

Beth bore down on her poor husband. She was _furious_. "Start talking."

* * *

"Mona, what are you doing here?" Josef was startled, and a little angry. _Does no one listen to me anymore?_

His freshie cautiously stepped further into the room, saying, "I was worried about you, Josef. I thought you might like a fresh meal for a change."

"My sweet, that is a very kind offer, one that I shall certainly take advantage of…but don't you realize the danger you've put yourself in? I told you all to remain at the safe house."

Mona's face was very pale, and a tear trickled from the corner of her eye. "I wanted to see you, Josef. All the girls all worried. Are you okay?"

Josef pulled her into his arms, "I'm fine, darling." He cupped her chin, "But it was very foolish to leave on your own. Don't do it again. Understand?"

The girl nodded. Josef brushed her long hair from her neck. "Now, what was it you said about a fresh meal?"

Mona smiled and tilted her head back, opening up access to her neck. She felt Josef's allure roll over her, erasing all worry and fear and leaving her floating in a haze of bliss. When Josef sunk his fangs in her neck, she didn't even wince.

Her blood tasted so good. Josef was hungry. He let her energy flow into him along with her delectable blood. AB negative, his favorite. He swallowed again and again, wishing he could drain her dry.

Instead, he stopped after a few seconds. He had taken plenty. Mona's eyes were dreamy and clouded. She sighed happily.

Josef drew his enthrallment back to himself. His freshie's golden brown eyes cleared. Josef leaned over her neck, and sealed the bite marks. "Thank you, my sweet."

"You're welcome."

Josef walked her to the office door, "Go back to the safe house, Mona. And this time, _stay_ there."

"Yes, Josef." Monica turned and walked down his expensive white marble hall, catching a glimpse of Josef moving back to his desk as she entered the elevator.

She decided to exit the building through the parking garage. She rode the elevator all the way down, and stepped out into the deserted structure.

It was a little spooky down here. A few cars were parked, sitting as silent sentinels. A small dripping echoed off the cold cement. Mona walked quickly towards the exit, feeling goosebumps spread across her skin, and the hair on the back of her neck rise.

A shadow flickered in her peripheral vision. She started to spin towards it, a scream rising in her throat, when she was grabbed from behind in the dark. A soft cloth pressed against her nose and mouth, and she smelled something sweet.

The world titled crazily as her thoughts became fuzzy. Her brain felt like it was being stuffed with cotton. Her limbs became too heavy for her, and she started to slide to the floor. From far away she felt herself being slung over a broad shoulder. She struggled to remain awake, but in a second she went limp as darkness descended over her vision.

Drugged.

* * *

Lucius shoved the young woman into the trunk of his car, and took off quickly, winding his way through Los Angeles, back to his ratty office. The bottle of chloroform he had used to subdue the freshie bounced a little on the passenger seat. The abduction couldn't have gone any smoother.

He looked forward to when the freshie would wake, and the real fun would begin. He always had been skilled at interrogating prisoners.

_Finis_

* * *

Please review! **: )**


	12. One Last Breath

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Moonlight.**

_**Warning: There is graphic torture appearing in this chapter.**_

**A/N:** Many of you from the three sites where I post this story were pretty hard on Josef's judgment last chapter…saying he should have called security for Mona…you guys are getting a little ahead of me…he _does_ call security…that bit was always planned for this chapter. I couldn't really work it in smoothly on the last one. Have faith in our vamp! **; )**

**A/N2:** Also, some seem to think Josef should be aware that he is being watched…but Lucius has not tipped his hand in any way…there is no way for Josef to know about the cameras. **: (**

**A/N3:** Josef is never going to bring Mick into his confidences…I can't see him ever changing his mind knowing how much danger telling about Lucius would expose his friends to…however this is not to say that Mick and Beth never find out… **; )**

Many thanks to those who left reviews for the last chapter…I believe there is only one more chapter left till we jump back to the past again!

I present the first of the truly evil cliffhangers of this story with this chapter. mwahahaha...

_One Last Breath_

Josef sat back down at his desk, hearing his elevator descend. Mona had just left. He picked up his phone and dialed security.

"Stevens here."

"Leonard, there is a young lady leaving the building. Send two men to escort her back home."

"Right away, sir."

Josef hung up his phone, satisfied that it would be taken care of. Mona shouldn't have had time to catch a taxi yet. His men would see that she returned to the safe house in one piece. _Foolish girl…doesn't she realize what danger she put herself in by coming here?_ Josef was just relieved that nothing had happened to her. He was rather fond of all his girls.

The fresh blood had cleared his head somewhat and he found himself able to finally get a clear picture on Lucius's strategy. _He's trying to rattle me…and it's working._ Josef was finding himself jumping at shadows and stray noises like a new-turn. He snapped at his employees, and he paced his office—a caged panther. _Get a grip. Lucius isn't here._

But the last phone conversation he had finished with his brother made him extremely worried. _Lucius says he has something worse in store for me than Afghanistan…_Josef shivered, the blood in his veins running cold, remembering…

_The burning desert sun shone through the carefully positioned hole in the small hut's hay roof, placing him exactly in the middle of the shaft of light. Sweat dripped down his face, stinging his eyes and making it hard to see. His body felt like it was on fire—all this sun was slowly killing him._

_A wooden stake splintered in his heart, sending throbs of agony throughout his body. He felt himself starting to lose consciousness…he embraced it…anything to escape this pain. His fingers on his left hand were broken and mangled, white bone sticking out sharply. Deep, ugly slashes covered his naked body. The blackness called to him._

_However, unconsciousness was not to be. A rough, calloused hand patted at his cheek, rousing him and keeping him awake. Josef stared in absolute terror into the dark eyes of his older half-brother. "Please," he begged. A tear trickled down the side of his face._

_Lucius only threw back his head and laughed._

Josef could still hear the echo of Lucius's laughter in his memories. Lucius had degraded him, reduced him to nothing more than a little boy, begging for mercy. Any dignity he had had at the start, Lucius had robbed.

And now Lucius said he had come up with something worse. Josef could feel the fingers of panic starting to softly stroke his mind, the emotion weaseling its way into him. He shuddered again—he couldn't help this reaction. He had endured serious trauma outside of Bala Baluk, and while he had survived and recovered, the scars of the torture remained.

After a hundred years of no trace of his vampire brother, Josef had begun to hope in earnest that Lucius had died in some sort of accident. Or maybe even killed himself to rejoin Nadia. Alas, it seemed not so.

He had summoned Ryder to his office after every time Lucius had called to run traces on the number—it was a thin hope that his sibling would slip up—make a mistake and contact him from a landline. But Lucius hadn't so far. Each call, Ryder had reported, was made from an untraceable, prepaid cell phone.

Josef slammed his fist against his desk. _Goddamnit!_ He wanted to do _something_. He believed in taking charge of his own fate. He hated this forced inaction. He needed to end this feud, now. Mick already knew something was wrong, and it wouldn't be long before he sniffed out everything. Josef couldn't have that.

_This must end._

* * *

Leonard Stevens, the head of Josef's building security set the phone down at his desk, finishing up a paragraph on a report, and picked up his radio. He sent out a signal, "Johnson, Randals. Mr. Kostan would like for you two to escort a young woman home. She should be out in front of the building. Get to it."

Randals's voice squawked back at him, "We're on it, boss."

Leonard nodded, and turned back to his paperwork.

* * *

In the lobby of Kostan Industries, two of the security, Garret Johnson and Allen Randals, moved from their usual posts and moved to the large glass doors at the entrance.

They hurried quickly through them, and down the steps onto the sidewalk, expecting to see the girl they were supposed to protect. They were surprised to find the sidewalk deserted.

Johnson inhaled, trying to catch a scent. He could pick up faint traces of a young woman, and of the unique smell of cigarette butts and dirty leather that was L.A.'s cabs. He shot a concerned glance at Allen.

"She must have already caught a taxi and left," he said.

Randals's face paled. "What do we do?" he asked.

Both security guards were nervous. It was impossible to fulfill their orders, but with the mood Mr. Kostan was in, they doubted he would be understanding. Josef didn't tolerate failure and they knew it. Johnson saw an image of his head being separated from his shoulders, and his and Allen's bodies being dumped in La Brea by their replacements. He felt at his neck—he didn't want that future to happen. Office gossip said Mr. Kostan was on edge, just looking for an excuse to release some of his anger.

Garret licked his lips, "We don't say anything. I'm sure the girl's fine. It's just Mr. K's paranoia acting up again. If we report this—he'll kill us."

"But won't he kill us if he finds out we lied to him?" Randals looked over his shoulder as though worried that Josef was standing behind them.

"Then we just make sure he never finds out." Johnson clapped Allen's shoulder. "It should be easy enough, we hardly ever see Mr. Kostan."

Allen gave a weak smile, "If you say so."

* * *

Lucius woke, hearing a crash coming from the front reception area of his office where he had left Josef's freshie bound and gagged to a chair. He pushed open the lid to his makeshift freezer and sat up, grinning. It seemed the lady was awake at last. He could hear the frightened hammering of her heart and it excited him. Maybe he would have a little fun with her before he killed her.

He swung himself out of his freezer, and pulled on a pair of lounge pants. He grabbed the instrument he would need. Before he had settled in his freezer for a quick nap, he had filed down a sliver of wood, until it was very thin. He took this, along with another chair, out into the reception room.

The freshie had tipped her chair over—the crash that had woken him. She was struggling unsuccessfully against her bonds, her eyes wide and terrified. Lucius had silently entered the room behind her, so when he touched her shoulder she let loose a muffled scream from behind the gag. Lucius righted the chair, spinning it around so that his face was inches from hers. "Hello."

He sniffed and then instantly covered his nose. The girl had wet herself. Her eyes were wide with fear and shame, her face burning as tears welled in her eyes. Lucius reached out and ran the back of his finger along the soft skin of her cheek. The smell of urine killed any ideas he had had about rape, but no matter. He'd still have fun. He smiled at her, revealing his fangs. Small whimpers rose from the woman, as she pressed herself back into the wooden chair.

Lucius spoke softly as he removed the gag, "My darling, we have things to discuss you and I. Somewhere in that beautiful head of yours is knowledge I need."

"I'll never betray Josef!" she whispered fiercely.

Lucius chuckled, turning from her momentarily to pick up the thin piece of wood from where he had sat it on an old, moldy, secretary's desk. He spun back to face the girl, holding the splint of wood up so she could see.

"My darling, by the time I am through with you, you'll have betrayed everyone and everything you hold dear. Your secrets will tumble from your lips and you will be powerless to stop them. And once I have the information I need, then my darling, you will die."

The freshie sobbed.

Lucius dragged his own chair up close, and grabbed her chin in his hand, wrenching her head to look at him. He placed the wooden sliver against the tip of her fingernail. "Tell me, darling. What is the alarm code to my little brother's home?"

* * *

_I'm going to be sleeping on the couch for the next decade, I know it. Mick, you fool, you should've listened for the shower to stop!_ But Mick had gotten too wrapped up speaking with Josef to register that Beth had finished her shower and that it might be prudent to end the conversation.

And now Beth knew that something was up. _Aw, man._ _Fuck._ Mick retreated back inside his office as Beth advanced on him. He could see something of Josef's style reflected in her movement. He gulped. Beth held considerable power for a fledgling, seeing as how her sire had been 409 when he turned her.

Mick tried shifting the blame off of himself. After all, it _had _been Josef who had gotten him into this. "Beth, it was Josef's idea to lie. He practically ordered—"

Beth interrupted, snapping, "And I suppose if Josef orders you to go jump off the top of his office building you'd do that too!"

"Well, yeah, Beth. Vampires can do that." _Maybe some humor will lighten her up a bit…_

It was the wrong thing to say. "You think this is funny, Mick?" Beth shouted. "You _lied_ to me. About my sire! _How could you?_" A few angry teardrops sprung to her lashes. "I _trusted_ you!"

Mick felt awful. "Beth, I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. Josef asked me to deceive you because he was worried the bond between you two would influence your judgment, and you'd get hurt trying to help him."

Beth's voice shook, "Why on earth would you agree to that?"

Mick lowered his head and said softly, "Because if you were ever hurt in any way, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. You are the most important person in my life. If you were killed, and I could have prevented it…I…I…You are the keeper of my heart, Beth, and if something happened to you, my heart would die along with you. I love you. I was only trying to protect you. I'm sorry." Mick stared morosely at the floor.

Beth's bare feet moved into his line of sight as she stepped in close to him. He felt her hand caress his cheek, and she lifted his gaze to hers. Her eyes were back to normal. "Oh Mick," she said, "That was one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me." Then her eyes bled back to silver blue, and she reached back, delivering a stinging slap. "You better not lie to me _ever_ again."

Mick rubbed at his cheek, wincing, meeting the eyes of his wife, "I won't, Beth. I won't."

Beth stepped out of the office and into the kitchen area to get some blood. "So what the hell is wrong with Josef, Mick?"

Mick sighed, following her. It was time to spill the beans on the old man.

* * *

Josef sighed. It was nearing dawn. Hours had passed since Mona had come and gone, and the strength and energy her fresh blood had provided was starting to fade as the stress of his situation bore down upon him. He wanted to go home. He had accomplished nothing tonight and that was frustrating. _Maybe if I get some rest I'll be able to think more clearly tomorrow._

How he wished that things were normal right now. Then he could stop by Mick and Beth's, have a drink with his friend and catch up with his fledgling. Josef hadn't seen Beth for the past four days and he longed to visit her. He could sense her through their connection, and she was still worried and frightened. As her sire, Josef felt the tug to go see her—to reassure and comfort her. He missed Beth.

He also missed fencing. Though he hadn't admitted it, he highly enjoyed their lessons. Beth was a fast learner and a natural talent. He knew he would eventually have a worthy adversary to spar with him at last in her. He relished being able to use his old skill again. It was something familiar in this modern age.

Around half an hour later, he was pulling his Ferrari into his garage, nodding to the security that stood guard. As he killed the engine, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen…_Mick again…_He ignored the call. Maybe his friend would finally get the hint. He doubted it. Mick was a stubborn bastard and wasn't the giving up type.

His mansion felt strange with the absence of his freshies and staff. Josef missed the background pounding of their hearts. Even on his most stressful days, the sound of blood pumping through their veins always managed to sooth him. His footsteps sounded too loud to him as he walked down the hall to his kitchen.

Here, again, it was off-kilter. On a usual night, the freshie that was up in the rotation would be waiting for him—most likely having breakfast as he drank her for his dinner. Now, his kitchen was empty. There was no fresh blood from the vein waiting for him…just some bottled stuff that was quickly becoming stale.

He grumbled to himself as he poured some of Lauren's donated blood in a tall glass. Taking it in hand, he went to his library, and to the liquor cabinet he had there. He kept his oldest and smoothest scotch in the library.

He selected a decanter, and mixed in some of the amber liquid with his blood. It burned on the way down his throat and he savored the feeling, if not the taste, of the alcohol.

Josef eyed his bookshelves. He had an extensive collection—many were first editions, since he had been around when they were first published. He decided to read for a bit…see if he could get himself to relax a little before going to bed.

Josef browsed his selection, before finally settling on an old favorite. _The Hound of the Baskervilles_. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may have been an arrogant arse, _Much too full of himself for his own good…_—Josef had never been able to stand him—but he was an excellent writer. He seated himself in an armchair and opened the novel. He just wanted to escape from reality for a while.

It was no use. He couldn't concentrate on the book. When he realized that he had read the same paragraph for the third time in a row, he shut the novel with a snap, and set it aside. He rose from the armchair, draining the last of his blood and scotch. He exited the library, heading upstairs to his shower and freezer.

Josef stood in his shower a long time, head bowed into the icy spray, one hand pressed up against the wall as he leaned forward. He shut his eyes, just feeling the cold water soak his hair and run down his back. He finally felt some tension leave. _I needed this. I've been wound so tight._ He ran a hand through his wet hair, flinging droplets around him. The water felt so good.

He reached for the soap, noticing an ever so slight tremble in his hands—from nerves and exhaustion. Since Lucius had called, Josef, understandably, hadn't been sleeping well. Worry over where his half-brother was and what he might possibly do to destroy his life and home had plagued him for the past three days.

He concentrated on steadying his hands, and gradually the small shaking stopped. _Good._ Centuries of practiced control was needed if he was to make it through this situation alive—Josef had no illusions about how powerful Lucius was.

Twice his older brother had bested him, and if Lucius hadn't owed him a life debt from the Thirty Years War, Josef was sure he would have met his death before ever reaching the age of 100. The second time, Josef knew Lucius had intended for him to die. He had left him staked in Afghanistan, lying helpless in a burning hut. If Nadia hadn't taken pity on him…

Josef scrubbed the soap against his body, trying to think of some sort of action he could take. Try as he might, he could not come up with one. He had no way of tracking Lucius—his brother had only shown himself the one time here, and then seemingly vanished as smoke on the wind, except for the harassing phone calls—which were untraceable. What could Josef do? Which was the correct course of action? He absolutely despised the idea of waiting around for Lucius to come to him, but what was his other option? To go randomly searching through Los Angeles in hopes of discovering Lucius's hiding spot? It would be foolish to leave his secure buildings and potentially expose himself to an attack.

No, he would have to wait. Josef sighed and rinsed the soap off, finishing his shower. He stepped out of the stall, grabbing a towel from the rack and ruffling it against his hair. He lowered his towel and stared at himself in his giant mirror that hung above his white marble bathroom counter. His hair was tousled wildly in all directions and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. _I look like shit,_ he thought.

He dried himself off, smoothing down his hair, and padded, naked, from his bathroom through the door into his freezer room. The carpet was soft underneath his bare feet, the room lights dim and soothing. He opened the lid to his freezer and swung himself inside, the glacial air and frost swirling around him.

Josef lay down on his back, one arm up under his head, the other lying at his side. The scotch and shower had helped to ease his nerves somewhat…_Please, let me sleep today. Please._ He closed his eyes, pushing all worrisome thoughts and speculations aside for now. He knew he was safe in his home. With that thought, he closed his eyes.

In a moment, he was asleep.

* * *

The freshie's screams reverberated through the deserted office building, each new pitch struck only encouraging Lucius in his endeavors. He smiled. This was so much fun.

"Monica, my darling," he crooned to her, "All you have to do is tell me what I want to know and I promise this will end." He had tortured the freshie's name out of her reluctant lips. He always found larger betrayals came easier after smaller, less important confessions.

Mona's hands were bloody…all the nails of her right hand were gone, pried off slowly, one by one, by Lucius. She had briefly passed out from sheer suffering, screaming her throat raw. The crimson liquid oozed over her hands, steadily dripping onto her lap. Lucius had broken two of her fingers, and still she had not told him the code. Lucius had to admit she impressed him. Not many could endure what she had. He had taken his time shoving the wooden splinter under her fingernails.

But as much as he was enjoying himself, he needed to end this. He wanted to set his plan into motion. He leaned forward, roughly grabbing Mona's chin in his grasp, and forcing her to look at him. She was hyperventilating, her chest heaving as she gasped for air through strangled sobs of terror and pain.

"P-please…p-pl…pl-please!" Tears spilled from her panic-stricken eyes.

Lucius leaned in and whispered softly in her ear, "My darling, if you think what you have gone through was painful—you are mistaken. Those were tickles compared to what I am going to do now." He took one of her broken fingers in his hand, and said, "What is Josef's alarm code?" Without even waiting for a response, he crushed the already broken finger in his grip.

Mona surged forward against her bonds, shrieking in absolute, total and complete _agony_, and blacked out. Lucius slapped at her face until he managed to rouse her. Her brown eyes had lost any spark of life, and stared numbly up at him, dull and terrified. Lucius had done it. He had broken her soul—shattered it into tiny shards.

He took her other mangled finger, and said, "Now, my darling, unless you would like to experience that again, I will give you a chance to answer my question…What is the alarm code to Josef's home?"

She opened her mouth and the numbers fell from her lips in a detached monotone. Lucius memorized them. He patted her gently on the cheek, softly setting her fingers down. "You see? That wasn't so hard."

She sagged against her bonds, head drooping. Lucius rose and crossed to his desk. He pulled out from underneath it an empty paint can he had recovered from some abandoned remodeling on the upper floors. He opened it, setting the lid down on top of the desk's surface.

He pulled open a drawer and removed a sharp dagger. He crossed back to Mona, her eyes flashing with fear one last time before he slit her throat, killing her in an instant. He held the paint can up to her neck to catch the majority of the flowing blood.

He grinned to himself as he watched Mona's blood fill the can. When it was nearly overflowing, he pulled it away, securing the lid on tight. He let the rest of the seeping blood stain her body.

He entered the back office, and changed out of his lounge pants, into jeans and a shirt. He repeated the alarm code to himself, as he laced up his boots. He was excited. He left, duster in hand, whistling a merry tune, swinging the paint can of Mona's blood at his side.

The sun had risen in the sky, but that didn't bother him. Nothing could get him down—his plan for revenge was falling perfectly into place. He drove out to Josef's home.

It was time to pay his little brother a visit.

* * *

"But _why_ won't he tell you, Mick?" Beth wailed, clutching at her hair. "Why won't he tell us what's wrong?"

Mick could sense the fledgling's distress. Against his better judgment, he had told Beth all he knew—which wasn't much. Not surprisingly, it had sent Beth into a full-fledged panic, and she had bolted to the door to go seek Josef out. Mick had caught her and pulled her back. "Beth, this reaction is _exactly_ why Josef and I lied to you."

"I need to see him! I need to help him!" A few tears trickled down Beth's cheek. "I can sense his emotions, Mick. He's scared. He needs me!"

Mick had no doubt that Beth was right about Josef being scared. The thought was not comforting. He answered Beth's pleas, "I'm sorry, baby, but I can't let you go to him. Josef said you could be killed. Think of what your death would do to him."

For now that thought seemed to be keeping her at their apartment, but Mick knew he had to keep a strict eye on her—lest she try to leave. He was worried. Beth's skin was much too pale, even for a vampire. Her fright at not knowing what was going on with Josef—but knowing that he _was_ in danger—was taking its toll on her. She was completely worked up, and kept coming back to wanting to know why Josef wouldn't ask for their help.

The longer Mick watched her, the angrier he grew at Josef. His friend hadn't even so much as _called_ Beth for the past three days. The old man was risking his fledgling's health, and didn't even have the courtesy to tell them why.

Beth was crying on his shoulder, hands clutching at his chest, as he stroked her back and tried to comfort her. For once, his jealousy didn't make an appearance. She raised her face to his, and said, through gasps for air, "Mick, _please_ go help him. Find out what's wrong. _Please._"

Mick pulled back slightly so that his eyes met hers. He said with all seriousness, "If I do that, you must swear to me you will not leave this apartment no matter what."

"But—"

"_No matter what_, Beth. Or I don't go. Understand?"

Beth nodded meekly and sniffled. "Yes."

"All right. Swear it."

"I promise on our love, not to leave our home. No matter what."

Mick rose and pulled her up from the couch with him. "Okay. I'll go out to Josef's. Beth, you need to rest."

"I don't know if I can sleep…I'm so worried." She stared anxiously into Mick's face.

"I'll drop a sleeping pill in a glass of blood for you. Once it dissolves, you can drink it. That will help." Mick helped Beth upstairs, and steered her into their master bedroom. "You get ready for bed. I'll be back in a moment."

Beth wiped at her eyes with her hand. "Okay. Thanks." She started to pull her blouse off as Mick headed to the bathroom to get a pill.

He went back downstairs and poured Beth a small glass of blood, dropping the pill in. He hoped it would help her drift off. It was already eleven, and Beth really needed to rest.

Beth was in the freezer room, sitting up inside their ice box, hugging her knees. Mick stroked some hair back from her face, and handed her the glass. She tossed it back swiftly.

Mick took the glass back. He leaned forward and kissed his wife on the forehead. "Get some sleep, beautiful." He lowered the freezer lid as Beth lay back and closed her eyes. He dimmed the lights and exited the room.

He scooped up the keys to his Mercedes from his office desk and headed out. He would go to Josef's mansion. It was late in the day enough that Josef should be there.

Mick was determined. One way or another, this time he was going to get answers.

* * *

Lucius parked his car a bit down the street from Josef's mansion in the hills. He walked slowly up the street, carrying the paint can of the freshie's blood and his dagger, keeping an eye on Josef's house…on the lookout for the security Josef had patrolling his grounds.

When he got in semi-close, he left the street, and skittered around to approach the mansion from the back—where trees and bushes offered more cover from sharp eyes. A guard was standing by the pool, taking quietly into a radio. "All clear by the pool."

_Not for long…_Lucius thought with a evil grin. He loved this part.

He stealthily slithered from tree to tree, keeping out of sight, and being careful to not make a noise. If he alerted the guards to his presence, one of them would raise the alarm and alert Josef, and then he wouldn't be able to have his fun. He needed to pick the guards off silently, one by one.

The guard was gazing out in the opposite direction when Lucius reached him. With vamp speed Lucius separated the guard's head from his body. Blood splattered across his trusty dagger. Lucius licked some of it off, smacking his lips with satisfaction.

He stalked around the house, finding the guard's positions, and decapitating each one. He knew it would have been much quicker to find a spot back on the hill and snipe them off with silver bullets, but Lucius enjoyed the up close and personal nature of killing through decapitation. He liked seeing the life fly from his victim's eyes—liked the feeling of their breath leaving in a rush and seeing their bodies slumping to the ground. He dragged the security's corpses to some bushes, where they wouldn't be seen by anyone who might happen to pass by on the street.

He returned to where he had left the paint can and retrieved it. He proceeded to stroll up Josef's front path in plain view. He set the paint can down by the double-wide front doors, and pulled out a lock picking set. After a few minutes he heard a faint click as the lock released.

He tested the knob. The front door opened smoothly before him. He stepped inside the entrance hall, bringing the can of blood along with him. He shut the door, and moved to Josef's alarm pad. He punched in the numbers and waited to see if the pad would accept the code. If the freshie had lied to him, he would know soon enough.

But the alarm didn't sound. An evil smile slowly spread across Lucius's face as he turned from the alarm pad to face the hallway. The foyer was silent—Josef's treasured Renoir hung on the wall.

Lucius was inside Josef's home.

_Finis_

* * *

**E/N:** I would like people to know that I took no pleasure in writing those torture scenes. I'm not a very dark person…I try to be cheerful and upbeat. But Lucius is a depraved, sick, twisted, evil being and I believe a person like him would get a kick out of torturing someone. **: (**


	13. Nightmares

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Moonlight.**

**A/N:** Remember, we are in Lucius's revenge stage 1: Mess with Josef's head…

**A/N2:** There are some references to _The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship_ appearing throughout the chapter.

**A/N3:** Morpheus is the God of sleep. There is a super quick reference to him in the opening of the chapter.

Everyone should know that this is rated 'R' in part due to language.

Many many thanks to my beloved readers! *hugs*

Please forgive any pesky typos.

Enjoy!

_Nightmares_

Beth rolled over in the freezer she and Mick shared every day. She sighed, tucking her arm up underneath her head, so that her face nestled in the crook of her elbow. She concentrated on her breathing, trying to control it, maintain its pace at a slow and steady rate. She was scared.

The sleeping pill wasn't working. Beth was too worried, and her emotions overpowered any lasting effects the drugs were having on her undead body. The pill had only succeeded in making her feel dizzy and sleepy…but that was all. It wasn't quite strong enough to send her into the arms of Morpheus.

So Beth tossed and turned in the frosty temperatures of what was her bed, wishing Mick would get back soon. _Has he found Josef yet? Are they okay?_ She blinked back tears, biting her lower lip. She knew Mick and Josef wouldn't want her fretting like this—hell, she wished she could calm down—but she just couldn't. Her sire was in some sort of trouble, and every fledgling instinct of Beth's was screaming at her to go to his aid.

Two, small tears trickled down from the corners of Beth's eyes. Last night had been awful. Finding out Mick had lied to her—her chest tightened in anger as she recalled the phone conversation she had overheard. She was furious about that. Mick had explained and apologized, and that helped some, but deep down she was still very much hurt and angered by her husband's betrayal of their trust.

Josef too. Josef had also lied to her. While this betrayal didn't sting as much as Mick's, Beth was still hurt by her sire's choice. _Doesn't he feel he can confide in me? Maybe we're not as close as I thought._ It seemed Josef wasn't willing to discuss his problems with her, one of the few people in his life who he should be able to lean on for support unconditionally. _Does he not love me?_

Beth sniffed, and wiped her nose with her hand. _Don't be ridiculous. You know Josef loves you. You're his sister practically, a close friend, his fledgling. You know he cares for you—even if he doesn't say it. He didn't have to turn me…_

Beth remembered how three years ago she and Mick had dropped by Josef's office to drop a double bombshell on the elder vampire—that they were engaged, and that Beth wanted Josef to turn her.

Josef had refused initially. Beth had been crushed. She had wanted Josef for her sire so that her relationship with Mick would be one of equals. She had worried that if Mick turned her, the fundamentals of their love would change and forever be altered. When Josef had refused to act as her sire, Beth had been heartbroken.

But the old man had changed his mind. Eventually he had agreed, and he had turned Beth around two weeks later. Beth could still recall with absolute clarity the first moment she opened her eyes as a vampire.

_Smells, tastes, touches, feels, sounds. _

_Sweat, water, silk, soft, breathing._

_A voice, "Beth?" Rich vibrato. Deep. Calm. Beautiful. Mick._

_Mick._

_Josef!_

_Beth opened her eyes, slowly blinking. The lights of Josef's bedroom were dimmed, giving off only the faintest of soft glows. Still, Beth could see everything, in razor sharp contrast. She could see the individual threads in the covers, and each and every weave of the carpet. Every grain and knot in the wooden bedpost. Every shadow that flickered and every particle of dust that danced in the air._

_Not only could she see everything, she could hear everything as well. The soft tick-ticking of Josef's pocket watch from where it rested on top of his chest of drawers. The rustling of the sheets underneath her, and the soft rhythms of someone breathing to her right._

_She turned her head. Mick was there. He had pulled up an armchair to the side of Josef's bed. Beth felt his hand on hers, his thumb softly stroking her skin. She marveled at the sensation. Almost shyly, she slid her gaze from their hands to her fiancé._

_Mick's soulful eyes were dancing with barely contained joy and relief. He was smiling at her, the corners of his blue orbs crinkling. Beth had always known Mick had beautiful eyes, but she realized now that what she had seen as a human was nothing compared to the loving gaze that was shining down upon her at this moment. Mick's eyes were the color of the ocean, and Beth found herself lost in their swirling waves of color._

"_Hey, baby. How do you feel?" His warm voice rolled over her, encompassing her slender form, gathering her into its melodies, and wrapping her close._

"_Amazing. This is amazing," she breathed._

_Mick's smile grew wider, and he leaned down, softly kissing her lips._

_Sensation exploded across her, as her body reacted to the feel of his mouth on hers. She kissed him back, wanting only to lose herself in this moment. Her hand squeezed his as their fingers interlaced on top of the bed._

_But while they kissed, Beth gradually became aware of a growing urge inside of her. Something was wrong…a tingling feeling in her bones, a niggling thought in the back of her mind. Josef! Where was he?_

_Abruptly, she broke the kiss, and anxiously scanned the bedroom, searching for her sire. He wasn't in the room. Beth's breathing started to come faster. Where was her sire? She began to panic._

_Mick sensed her distress, and guessed the reason easily enough. "Josef's here, Beth. He had to step out of the room for a moment. He'll be right back."_

"_Josef…" Beth wailed. She struggled to pull back the sheets. She needed her sire!_

_She heard footsteps outside the room and a split second later the door opened, bright light from the hallway blinding her delicate, hyperactive vision. She couldn't see. But she could still hear and smell._

_She heard the door shut, and footsteps cross the room to the bed. She could hear someone else breathing, and a light chuckle._

_She could smell expensive cologne, and beneath that, she could smell advanced decay, death, and extreme power. And then, even further below the overwhelming scent of decay, her nose could detect the aroma that she would come to know as unique to Josef—Rain and water, musty smoke, old leather and scotch, tears. Over time, Beth would grow familiar with his scent, and come to associate it with comfort._

_She felt him sit on the bed, next to her side. As her vision began to return, she could make out his blurred form leaning over her. "I'm here, Beth," he soothed._

_Beth sat up, and wrapped her arms around him, clutching at him in a death grip. A detached, rational part of her mind wondered at the strength of this need to touch her sire, but the fledgling instinct could not be denied._

"_Are you hungry?" Josef asked._

_At those words, Beth became aware of an immense hunger rearing inside of her. She felt something prick at her teeth, and reached a wondering hand to her mouth, feeling at her sharp fangs for the first time. Though she didn't know it, her eyes had bled to a pale, pale silver._

_Josef held his wrist up to her mouth, and she grabbed it, instinctively knowing where to hit the artery. She bit down, and Josef's blood flowed, warm and soothing into her mouth. She choked it down awkwardly until she got a handle on the pulse of feeding._

_Both Josef and Mick were watching her with pride. Her first meal. When she was satisfied, she raised her blood-smeared lips from Josef's wrist, fierce eyes flashing, and roared._

_Mick's fangs and Josef's silver eyes gleamed in the dim room as they answered her._

Beth and Josef's relationship had gotten off on a rocky start. They had first met during a crisis—Mick had been dying. Beth had made some mistakes and those in turn had pissed Josef off. But eventually, he had been able to forgive her. Beth saving his life might have helped with that.

They had started a tentative friendship after their initial disagreement. And after Josef became her sire, their friendship strengthened a hundredfold. Deep bonds of emotion and awareness of each other connected the fledgling and sire. They were now as close as brother and sister. Josef had opened himself up to her, trusted Beth with secrets that he shared with no one else save Mick.

But now he was closing himself off again. It hurt. Beth couldn't understand why he was doing this. She needed him. And it wasn't just a friendly, 'It's been a while, we should catch up,' kind of want…no, as a fledgling, she physically _needed_ to see her sire in order to remain healthy. But she hadn't seen Josef for over three days. Her mind was on the ragged edge, and she was beginning to feel sick.

_He hasn't even called me…_More tears spilled onto her cheeks, to run down the side of her face and splash against the cold, hard freezer floor.

Beth couldn't stand it anymore. She couldn't just continue to toss and turn in here. She had promised Mick, upon their love, she would stay at their apartment and she would keep that promise (much as she didn't wish too), but she had made no promise to stay in the freezer.

She flung open the lid and scrambled out, swaying and nearly falling as a wave of intense dizziness from the sleeping pill washed over her. She pulled on her robe, and clutching at her stomach, made her way downstairs, holding onto the stair rail for support.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed Mick's number.

He answered, "Can't sleep, Beth?"

"No. No, I can't. Have you talked—"

Mick interrupted her question, already knowing what she was asking. "I tried calling his cell phone, Beth, but he didn't answer. I'm on my way to his house. I should be there soon enough."

"Hurry, Mick. I just feel that Josef's in danger." Beth clutched at the phone, pressing it to her ear with a white-knuckled grip, as if that would somehow bring her closer to her sire.

"Don't worry, beautiful. I'll get to the bottom of this."

"Be careful."

"I will. I love you, Beth."

"I love you too," Beth whispered. She hung up.

She moved on unsteady legs into the living room, and sat down on the sofa, curling her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them, and rocked slightly back and forth, trying hard not to let her panic overwhelm her. _Josef is fine, Josef is fine, Josef is fine…Oh, Mick, find him quickly!_

* * *

Josef remained asleep in his freezer. His head turned to the side, and his eyelids and face twitched. He was dreaming…

_He dreamed he was back in the hut, in the deserts sands and wind of Afghanistan. Outside of Bala Baluk there was no chance for rescue. The cold, unfeeling stars shone down through the jagged hole in the roof. There was no moon._

_He was starving. He couldn't remember the last time he fed…he couldn't even remember his name. Coherent thought was a rarity these times, as one day of pain and agony blended into the next, into a never-ending stream of suffering and misery._

_He lay, staked and helpless, powerless over his body, his fate in the hands of another…of Lucius._

_He dreamed that Lucius stood over him, in the small hut. He dreamed his brother's tall figure stood in the dark shadows over his wretched body, just a dark shadow himself. In the dream, his half-brother's eyes glowed red, and Josef felt terror tighten his chest._

_Lucius stepped forward into the starlight, looming over him. It was somehow worse to see his face clearly. The dream distorted his brother's features, long hair dripping with blood, scars and twisted flesh, mouth full of fangs and sharp, gnashing teeth. When he spoke, it was hell's chorus screeching at Josef's ears, causing Josef to writhe and scream._

_He dreamed that black, rotting blood dripped from Lucius's mouth to burn against his face. Fire danced in Lucius's dark eyes. Josef choked—gagging on the foul stench that rose from his tormentor's rotting corpse of a body._

_In the dream, Lucius straightened over him, reaching up to the low hut roof, and pulled down fistfuls of hay. He soaked the hay sticks in oil, and set them around the table on which Josef lay staked. He struck a match, and threw the small burning stick into the nearest bundle. It ignited quickly._

_Lucius reached out, and shoved the stake in deeper so that the tip of it actually protruded out of Josef's back. The demon visage of his older brother leaned over him, and snarled, "Good-bye, little brother. May you burn in Hades."_

_Lucius vanished, leaving Josef to the flames. Staked as he was, there was no way to escape. In his dream, this time Nadia did not return for him, and the fire soon began to tickle at his feet. Josef lay helpless, panicking. There was absolutely nothing he could do to save himself. _

_Smoke stung his eyes, as he felt himself start to burn…_

Josef tossed his head back the other way as his dream shifted…

_The fire and the hut, and the hard table beneath him faded away to be replaced by his icy cold freezer air. He was home, in Los Angeles. He was safe and secure in his mansion. _

_He was lying in his freezer, relaxed, asleep. He dreamed with a sudden jolt of fear that Lucius's face appeared above him, peering down at his sleeping form through the frosted glass of the freezer's lid. He dreamed that Lucius's lips curled back into an evil snarl, the tips of his fangs peeking out, as his eyes bled to silver._

_In the dream, Lucius whispered to him, "Sleep while you can, little brother. I'm coming for you…"_

* * *

Lucius crept silently through the hallways of Josef's home. He entered every room, being sure to leave his scent all over Josef's possessions. It was an act of dominance, and it would be sure to piss off, and unnerve, his younger brother.

When he was finished downstairs, he quietly made his way up to the second story. He carefully searched through each room, until he finally found who and what he was looking for.

He had stepped inside the master bedroom—by far the largest bedroom in the mansion. A king-sized bed was in its center, a tall chest of drawers, and a spacious closet off to the side. Dark, cream-colored carpet, soft underfoot, was on the floor.

Two separate doors branched off from the bedroom. Lucius tried the one to the left, and was rewarded. He had found Josef's freezer and his brother.

The lights in the freezer room were dimmed. Josef's black freezer was humming very quietly in the background. Lucius couldn't see his brother through the opaque freezer sides, so he stepped further into the room to peer down at Josef through the frosted glass lid.

His brother was sleeping, albeit uneasily. _Good, good,_ Lucius thought with sadistic pleasure. It seemed his strategy to put Josef on edge was working extremely well. As he watched his brother, Josef turned his head, brow furrowing, fingers clenching into a fist.

As Lucius stared at him, he was suddenly overwhelmed with hatred so powerful, so consuming, that he nearly choked on it. His loathing of Josef grew as a twisted vine out of his stomach and pushing up his throat, until his mouth had opened in a silent snarl. For a moment, he considered abandoning his fun, and just taking his revenge, here and now—this instant. Kill Josef as his brother slept, and emerge the victor. His hand moved down to the latch on the freezer lid.

He paused. _No, he has not suffered enough._ Lucius remembered his carefully laid plans. _You will make him beg you for death before the end. For Nadia. A swift death is not what he deserves. Stick to the plan._ His hand moved away from the latch and returned to his side.

Lucius leaned forward over the freezer lid and whispered, "Sleep while you can, little brother. I'm coming for you…"

He stepped away from the freezer, and opened the paint can of the freshie's blood. The sweet aroma of Mona's decadent blood drifted up to his nostrils. It was time to get down the purpose of this little visit.

Five minutes later, he had finished his work. He exited Josef's room as quietly as he had entered; being sure to disturb nothing, to make no sound that would alert his brother. He paused once more in the foyer, and when he was finished there, he tipped the paint can over—letting the remainder of the blood spill onto the hardwood floor. He set the paint can down next to it, and stepped outside, shutting the front door behind him.

He ambled his way down the street, to where he had left his car. He hoped he would be back to his office in time to catch some of Josef's reaction when he little brother woke. At the foot of the hill, he and a dark green Mercedes convertible both pulled up to the four-way stop at the same time. A pale man, with dark brown hair and sunglasses on, was behind the wheel of the beautiful Mercedes.

Lucius waved the man forward with a smile, allowing the car superior to his own to cross the intersection first. The brown-haired man raised a hand in thanks, and drove on up the hill. Lucius continued to his office.

* * *

Josef's dream shifted yet again…

_He was at his office. It had been a couple of days since he had fed fresh and he was starting to get sick of the taste of bottled blood. Though it had been collected fresh from a live vein, it was quickly becoming stale and unappetizing._

_He paced his office, worrying and hungry._

_The door opened. It was Mona. Her tan skin and dark hair shone in his office light, her curvy figure silhouetted by the lights from the hall. She leaned against the doorway, offering him her wrist, "Hungry, Josef?" she purred. The scent of her blood slammed into him full force. It was so strong, so real…intoxicating._

_He moved to her, taking her by her arms and drawing her in close, to press his body against hers. "Mona, my sweet," he growled._

_She offered him her arm again. "Satisfy yourself, Josef," she breathed into his ear._

_He needed no second urging. He gently took her wrist in his strong grasp, and bit down. Her blood flowed into his mouth. For a moment, he paused—something about her didn't taste quite right. Her blood tasted dull, lifeless. The passion that he could usually taste in it was missing._

_Josef shrugged his concerns aside. No matter. She still tasted much better than that bottled crap. He drank deeply and eagerly._

_When he was finished, he pulled back. "Thank you, Mona, darling."_

_She gazed up at him, a haunted expression on her face, "Don't forget me, Josef," she said, a tear sliding down her cheek._

"_I don't understa—"_

_Mona cut him off with a piercing scream. She screamed and screamed—shrieking at the top of her lungs. Her body twisted as though under immense pain. "PLEASE! PLEASE!!" Her harsh cries struck Josef's ears, and he jumped back, startled and unsure._

_Blood was gushing from her wrist where he had bitten. Had he struck her artery? Impossible. He had bit carefully, with precision. Nevertheless, her blood was flowing steadily out through the punctures in her wrist, and he watched in horror as it dripped to ground._

"_Mona!" he shouted, and leaped to her side. He tore off his suit jacket and pressed it to her wrist, hoping to staunch the flow. Her blood soaked the silky material, seeping onto his shirt._

_She collapsed and Josef caught her, lowering her gently to the floor, supporting her head. Her mouth was open in a silent scream. Josef didn't know what to do. "Mona. Mona!"_

_Her head jerked once, twice, and then her jaw fell slack. Her eyes glazed over. Josef looked down, and saw all the fingernails on her right hand were missing, and two of her fingers were mangled beyond all recognition._

_She had been tortured._

Josef's eyes shot open and he drew in a large gasp of the sub-zero freezer air. The frost burned in his lungs. He flung open the lid, and rolled himself over the edge of the ice box, panting. Waves of nausea rolled through his stomach.

He staggered, bent double, to his bathroom. He could still smell Mona's blood from his dream—_really_ smell it. He leaned over the sink, and dry heaved, trying desperately not to throw up. It was hard with the strong scent of Mona's blood lingering in the air.

The nausea faded a little. The scent of blood didn't. Josef turned on the sink, and splashed cold water into his face. He shook out his hands, and wiped at his eyes. He straightened and looked into the mirror that hung along above his bathroom counter.

The blood drained from his face, as his heart froze in a horrible instant of sickened dread. This time he did throw up, vomiting back up the blood and scotch he had drunk earlier.

Clearly reflected in his mirror was his Monet hanging on the wall of his freezer room.

It was smeared and splattered with blood.

The dark red-black liquid dripped down from the top of the painting, oozing over the peaceful scene of fishing boats and the harbor. The calming blues and greys now only offered horror, terror and death. In the center of the painting was a stark, slightly smeared handprint. Josef didn't need to inspect it to know whose it was.

He moaned into the sink, clutching at the faucet with trembling hands. Lucius had been here, _inside his very room_. Josef felt the bile rising as the full realization struck him. _He stood over me as I slept!_ He puked again, the sweet sour order of his vomit only adding to his nausea.

It was Mona's blood smeared over the now gruesome masterpiece. Josef knew Lucius had killed her. A dark, dark fury rose in his chest. There was going to be hell to pay with his security. Josef was going to find the men responsible for this and skin them alive.

An intense grief spilled into his heart. _Mona's dead…because of this, because of me._ The pale, ghostly images of the poor freshies Damien Fay had murdered rose in his vision, and Josef choked on a sob. This couldn't be happening again! He had taken steps to protect his girls and _still_ he had failed them. _I failed her! Not again. Not again._

Josef was struggling to breathe. His panic was very close to overwhelming him. He was trapped in this room, with the grotesque and macabre painting—Mona's chilling tombstone. He felt claustrophobic, as though the walls of his rooms were squeezing in on him. His vision was tunneling.

He staggered out of the bathroom, and into his human bedroom. A red trail of Mona's blood ran from the freezer, onto his carpet and out the doorway into the hall. Josef felt sick. What had Lucius done?

He dressed, struggling into a pair of jeans, and shirt. He pulled on his leather jacket, and snatched up his pocket watch. He briefly entered his closet, and after rummaging around in the back for a while, he found what he was looking for.

A long, old-fashioned, one-handed sword, encased in its sheath. Josef held it; hesitating slightly…did he really want to take this with him? He had other blades at his office. How would it appear if he brought this ancient weapon along with him? After a split second, he reversed his decision, and tossed the sword on the bed.

He hurried with all possible speed from the room. Lucius's scent was everywhere, over everything. _Jesus Christ. Fuck! Fucking Christ!_ Josef's breath came in shallow gasps, as he desperately tried to escape his fear. Mona's blood trail followed his every step. Her screams from his dream echoed in his ears.

He reached the entrance hall, and skidded to a halt, doubled over, placed his hands on his knees and vomited a third time. There wasn't much left in him to come back up, and so he dry heaved for a bit, hot tears splashing against his face.

His Renoir was ruined. Lucius had splattered and smeared Mona's blood all over that priceless artwork too. "No…no…" A large, dark puddle of the freshie's precious life-giving liquid was swirling in the center of the foyer, a large blood-stained paint can rolling slightly on its side beside the small pool. _Lucius was here, he was inside, he was here…He killed Mona. Oh God, oh fuck._

Josef was no coward—but he fled from Mona's blood and his home.

* * *

Mick made his way up the winding hill to Josef's home as fast as he dared. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic. He had passed a broad-shouldered man sitting behind the wheel of a beat-up pickup truck at a four-way stop, who had politely let him cross first. Mick appreciated it. He was in a great hurry.

Beth had already called him. Mick hated that she was alone at their apartment, with no one to comfort her. She shouldn't be by herself. He could hear the notes of panic and distress in her voice, as well as anxiety, fear and confusion. His heart ached for her.

He turned onto Josef's street, and soon reached the foot of his friend's driveway. Mick caught sight of movement at the top—_Josef…_He drove his car halfway up the graveled drive and jumped out.

Josef had been heading around to his garage, but had stopped when Mick had pulled in. Mick could see him clearly, as the afternoon sun landed on Josef's face.

His friend looked like absolute shit. Mick had known something bad was going on, but he hadn't been prepared for this. _Fuck, Josef! What the hell…?_

Josef's eyes were bloodshot, and slightly yellow. His hair was a little on the wild side, and he was paler than Mick had ever seen him before. Mick could see a visible tremor in the elder vampire's hands, and the old man smelled a little like vomit, _Vomit and blood_.

Mick sprinted up the drive to his best friend's, his brother's, side, and grabbed Josef roughly by the arm. "Josef! What in the hell is wrong?"

Josef wrenched his arm out of Mick's grasp, and angrily snarled in the young vampire's face. His eyes were glaciers and his fangs flashed. Mick almost didn't recognize him, "Get your fucking hand off of me, Mick. I told you to stay out of my business and to leave me alone. Go away."

Mick snarled right back, his own eyes paling and fangs dropping to match Josef's. Mick was pissed. Josef wasn't going to brush him aside this time. "No way, man. Not until you tell me what's the fucking matter with you."

Josef's anger hit him full force. Mick took a step back, as Josef bore down on him, much as Beth had done hours earlier. "What is your problem, Mick? What part of 'None of your business,' is your tiny brain having trouble understanding?" Josef shoved him a little on the chest, "I said, leave me alone, and I mean it, boyo. Get the fuck off my property."

Mick could hear the irregular cadence of Josef's pulse and breathing, and realized his friend was panicking. _This is just getting better and better…_ Mick was extremely worried. What was wrong? What the fuck was happening that had Josef so worked up like this?

"I'm not leaving this time, Josef," Mick said firmly. "Not until you let me know what's going on." Mick reached a hand out to his friend, "Talk to me, Josef. Why are you like this? If you don't want to confide for me, then do it for Beth. She's scared sick for you. She needs to know what's happening—that you're okay. She needs her sire, Josef. How can you be so cruel?"

But Josef just shook his head, "This is for Beth's own good, and yours as well, Mick. I can't lose either of you." The old man buried his face in his hands. "Please, Mick, go away."

"No, Josef. I'm not leaving without answers this time." Mick stepped in close to the other vamp. "I'm sorry for this…"

Josef raised his head, his expression confused, "Sorry for wha—"

Mick punched him.

His fist connected hard with the underside of Josef's jaw, and the older vampire's eyes rolled back, and he fell forward, unconscious. Mick caught him before he hit the ground. "Sorry, brother. This is for _your_ own good. You are out of your mind if you think I'm going to drop this."

Mick slung Josef's limp form over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and walked down the drive to his Mercedes. He laid Josef down in the backseat, and then moved around to the driver's side.

He headed back to his apartment, driving as fast as he dared without risking a ticket. Josef moaned in the backseat but didn't wake.

Mick knew his friend was going to be mightily pissed at him. _At least Beth will get to see him…_ He wondered what Josef would say when he came too. Mick prayed his friend would be understanding.

But as he glanced at Josef's pale form in his rearview mirror…somehow, Mick doubted that.

_Finis_

* * *

**E/N:** Okay, I didn't want to say this at the top of the chapter and spoil the action, but I have a running joke in all my multi-chaptered fics where I destroy Josef's Renoir (and sometimes other priceless works of art,) only to have it magically restored by the next story. **; )** I've already worked out the Renoir's death in _Miracle_. bwaahaha…

Next chapter will be back in the past!

And for those of you wondering, Lucius was still driving back to his office, and so did not see the scene with Mick. *whew*


	14. Dramatis Personae

**Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Moonlight.**

**A/N:** I apologize profusely to my readers for the long wait for this update. I wish I could say that you won't have to wait this long ever again, but I can't promise that. I'm back at school, and have a lot to juggle. Plus, I have two other multi-chaptered Moonlight fanfics going…so updates will unfortunately come slowly. NEVER worry that I have abandoned ANY of my fics. I will finish all of them, just probably at a snail's pace. Thank you very much for your patience. I so appreciate it. **: )**

**A/N2:** Rankings in the early Prussian army… **; )**

I've decided to use the English equivalents of German ranks…so here it is…

King/Duke

General

Colonel

Major

Captain

Lieutenant

Lucius entered the army as a Lieutenant, basically apprenticing to become an officer.

**A/N3:** Guns were used in battle by this time, but they weren't very effective. Bows and arrows were obsolete by the 17th century. Swords and bayonets were common. Duels were still fought with swords, not pistols.

**A/N4: Author Error:** I have made a minor historical error concerning who Friedrich Wilhelm was…he WAS a Duke…but he was THE duke of TESCHEN, and A duke of Selesia. Selesia is a large realm, in what today would be West Poland/East Germany, and was divided up among many rulers, Friedrich being one of those rulers.

**A/N5: **Lucius uses his mother's last name here...

**A brief summary: **_1599_-_1608_: Josef is born breech, his birth too traumatic for his mother Amalie to survive, and he grows up without a mother. His father, Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin III, a duke of Selesia, loves Josef, but can't bear to be around his son because of Amalie's traits reflected in Josef. So he neglects both his children, though Josef constantly thirsts for his father's approval and attention.

Konstantin takes Josef to England, in order to arrange his marriage to Catherine, the new born daughter of England's Viscount of Hereford, and to introduce Josef to court life. While in England, and old maidservant of the Viscount's confronts Friedrich, and reveals that the kitchen boy, her son Lucius, is actually Friedrich's bastard child. Friedrich agrees to Jenny's request to take Lucius with him, and he makes Lucius Josef's companion and whipping boy.

Lucius resents this, as he feels Josef's position as heir should rightfully belong to him. He hates Friedrich for separating him from his mother, and by extension hates Josef. Josef hates Lucius becaues Lucius recieves the attention and affection from his father that Josef has always wanted, and he can recognize the evil and maliciousness that festers in Lucius's heart.

When we were last in the past, Lucius, now being forced into the militia and the life of an officer, had just committed an ultimate act of evil, raping his half-sister Elisabeth, and exacting an oath of silence from her, or Josef's life will be forfiet. Terrifed and broken, Elisabeth has remained silent, and the story picks up again 8 years later...

Many thanks to **NeteleJala**, my amazing historian and researcher as well as one of my very closest friends! Congrats on your new job! *hugs*

Love to all my readers!! Can't thank you enough for all of your kind and enthusiastic comments!! **: D**

Please forgive typos, I am sure there are a couple. I'll be editing this later and fixing them. **; )**

Enjoy!

_Dramatis Personae_

~_Duchy of Selesia~1614~_

The sky was a lovely, pastel blue, only a few clouds chasing each other across its span. The sun shone, brightening the town of Teschen, gleaming upon the thatched and wooden roofs of the duchy. The sun warmed the large, solid stones of the castle, the battlements hot to the touch, the watchtower gleaming as it spiraled upwards, giving a breathtaking view of the countryside and coursing river to any who stood looking out its peepholes. A light breeze was upon the air, as the sun started to descend, its daily path taking the fiery chariot into the afternoon.

Two striking figures had ridden up into the castle's courtyard, dismounting and handing the reins of their stallions over to servants as they crossed the common grounds, talking and laughing.

"Are you sure, Josef? Women are tricksters," Charles chuckled, eyes snapping with amusement.

Josef walked, his hand resting on the pommel of his fencing rapier, as he and Charles strolled side by side. They had just finished a fencing session upon Charles's estate—both sharpening their skill and talent with their respective blades. Josef's muscles burned from the exercise, it had been a good session. His skill with a blade by now was quite impressive.

Josef nodded, "I'm sure. Women in general may be 'tricksters' as you say, but not Bess. She is around here somewhere. Most likely in the stables with the horses, if I know her." He lightly punched Charles on the shoulder, as the two friends turned their steps towards the large, oak doors that led to the majestic great hall of the castle—their conversation revolving around the fairer sex, as usual.

Charles—having recently lost his virginity to a maidservant in his father's household—talked of little else but women these days. What he liked about them, what he didn't like. Who he wanted to know better, and which girls in their shared acquaintance irritated him. Josef wasn't quite as interested in the subject, seeing as he had yet to take a girl to his bed, and so the conversations were mostly one-sided. Not that Josef minded…he found his friend diverting…Charles often said amusing things—misspeaking in his haste to make his points.

Fifteen suited Josef well. He had grown taller—very tall for his age, standing at well over 5'5, and not yet finished growing. He cut a fine figure, slender shoulders, muscled chest, and narrow cheekbones. His golden hair hung long in closely cropped waves, his brown eyes warm with intelligence. His voice had deepened, and he carried about himself a certain air, a quality of aristocracy—of nobility.

He was fluent in English, French, Russian, Spanish, and could read and write Latin. He possessed knowledge of history, mathematics, philosophy, geography, and the fine arts, including music. He was also skilled at politics, and business, intimately familiar with court life.

He strolled with confidence through the courtyard, his presence commanding respect as Friedrich's heir. He was dressed in a simple but elegant cream colored tunic, trimmed with gold, with a high collar, golden ruffles spilling out of the cuffs. His pants were tight, leather boots were laced up his calves, his fencing rapier sheathed and buckled, hanging at his side.

Charles kept pace at his side, his closest friend—also a nobleman's son. Charles soon stood to inherent his father's title, riches, and lands, as his father was sickly and dying. The doctors of the Teschen did not believe he would live out the season, and at sixteen years of age, it seemed likely that Charles would come into his wealth.

He stood around the same height as Josef, his shoulders large, his skin slightly tanned. He also had brown eyes, with long, curly, dark-brown hair. He was dressed in a blood red tunic, and light vest. He was a skilled horseman and fencer—having been Josef's riding and fencing partner since their youth. He was Josef's trusted confidant, and though his mind was not as refined as Josef's, nor as intelligent—he was loyal, dependable, and a good friend.

In the years since Lucius had joined the militia, Josef had come into his own. No longer overshadowed by his older bastard brother, Josef walked with confidence and self-assurance, secure in his class, rank, and power. One day, when Friedrich died, it would be Josef's duty to rule over the duchy.

Josef has alternate feelings of excitement and dread for the day when he would have his coronation. Excitement, because it meant that he would be in charge, he would be Duke, and could make a difference in his subjects' lives. Dread because it meant his father would be dead, and he alone would be responsible for maintaining the prosperity of Selesia. It was a daunting task. The duchy was deep in debt, and Josef knew it. Friedrich did not handle the duchy's treasury wisely…and to make up for the lost funds, his father exacted the money from the peasants. Only last month he had raised the taxes yet again.

Stirrings of unrest were starting to appear throughout the land…peasants were starving, as Friedrich took their last pennies, draining villages dry, and leaving them barely anything to help them get by in the cold winter snows. Grumblings and talk of revolution were igniting small fires, and though Friedrich ignored them, Josef did not. He was determined that when he was Duke, he would not treat his subjects so harshly. His sympathies lay with the people, not his father.

_His_ _father_—what a laugh that statement was. Friedrich and Josef spoke to each other only when necessary…their relationship was of tense silences, and indifference. The older Josef grew, the more of Amalie's traits Friedrich saw in his son, and the more he avoided Josef for that reason. It was too heartbreaking to look at him.

But Josef had no knowledge he resembled his mother…he interpreted Friedrich's avoidance to mean that he was disappointing his father—no matter how hard he strove for Friedrich's approval, his father only ever seemed to offer criticism, never praise. Josef thirsted for his father's love, but Friedrich offered him little. Instead, he seemed more comfortable showing private affection for Lucius, and Lucius and Friedrich kept regular correspondence.

It stung and hurt Josef that Friedrich seemed to love Lucius more than him. Lucius was not the heir, he was a bastard. Hatred for him grew with each letter his brother sent to the Duke, with each remark Friedrich made about Lucius's accomplishments in the militia…

—_Lucius has become quite accomplished with a blade_

—_The General has taken special notice of Lucius…he has been promoted. He commands his own group of men…_

—_Lucius did this, Lucius did that…_

Just once, Josef longed to hear, _Well done, my son._ from his father. Jealousy of Lucius consumed his feelings about his brother, and he hated that no matter what Josef did, Lucius was all Friedrich seemed to care about.

Just recently, Friedrich had informed Josef that his presence would be required tonight in the great hall. Peasants had revolted in a small village, and the militia had been sent to deal with them. Lucius had distinguished himself in battle, and the officers of the army were coming to feast their triumph at the castle tonight. Josef wasn't looking forward to seeing his brother again—at all. He had not seen Lucius since the night his half-brother had left, playing that mean-spirited trick on him, and was dreading the feast tonight.

Josef could recall the night Lucius had left with absolute clarity, as it had been so strange, marking a turning point for the sorrowful in his sister. He had raced to the manor, his heart hammering in his throat, his mouth dry with fear from Lucius's words that his father was dying. But when he found his father, Friedrich had been fine. Josef had flushed with furious embarrassment, and had returned to the stables, only to find that Lucius and Bess were both gone.

As always when he thought about Bess, Josef's heart ached. His sister…Josef felt as though he were missing something important—some awful truth which would explain his sister's disposition and melancholy. She was a shred of her former self these days, pale and sickly. She hardly ever spoke, and jumped and stated at loud noises, like a frightened colt. Josef didn't know what he could do for her, but seeing his sister so, his brotherly instincts were roused to help her in any way he could, if only he knew how.

After Lucius had left for the militia, Bess had locked herself in her room for two weeks, refusing to see anyone. At first Josef had thought nothing of it, but as the days passed and Bess did not emerge, Josef began to worry, and he went to her room. It was then he discovered she had locked herself in. He had knocked on the door and called to her but she hadn't answered.

When it became apparent that she wasn't going to emerge anything soon, Josef set up a vigil outside her door, waiting on a bench in the manor's hall, listening for his sister. What he heard broke his heart…

_"Bess?" Josef's brown eyes welled with tears. Why wasn't his sister speaking to him? Had he done something wrong? Was she angry with him? Josef loved his sister with his whole heart, he would do anything for her. Why didn't she want to see him—want to talk to him? _

_He pressed his ear against the door, straining to hear something, anything to let him know Bess was okay…_

_At first he could hear nothing…but then slowly, as he listened, he heard sobbing, deep cries ripped from his sister's breast and throat. His sister's sobs cut him to the quick. Why was Bess sad? Why? Tears trickled down the little seven-year-old's face, and he called out to his sister, "I'm here, Bess. I'll take care of you. Please come out."_

_But his sister did not emerge._

_Two weeks later, Elisabeth opened her door, to see her little brother curled up on the bench outside of her room, asleep, but with his face turned towards her door…waiting for her…keeping watch for her…Protecting her…_

…_If only he knew that through no fault of his, he had already failed in his endeavors…there was no greater violation that Elisabeth could have endured…rape at the hands of her older brother. Just with the thought memories that she would never, ever forget, raced through her mind, and she shivered, as her eyes filled with tears again_

_Josef stirred, and woke, blinking sleepily at her for a confused moment, before realizing his sister had left her room. He bolted to his feet, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. "I missed you, Bess," he whispered into the folds of her dress._

_Elisabeth stiffened at his touch, but then tentatively hugged him back, as she cried silently above him, "I missed you too, Josef." _

Bess never did tell what had happened after he left, no matter how much Josef begged and pleaded with her. Josef had even gone to his father, to ask for help, but Friedrich had dismissed his concerns with not even a thought, and an insult.

_"Stop fussing over your sister, Josef. You are acting like a woman."_

The remark had cut Josef deeply, and he had never gone to his father with any of his problems ever again after that, preferring to shoulder his burdens alone, trying to show his father he was a man. But he never stopped worrying about Elisabeth…never.

He had sworn an oath long ago to protect and take care of her, and Josef was a man of honor and he kept his word.

"Josef? Are you listening?" His friend's voice broke into his musings and memories.

"No, I wasn't. My apologies. What did you say?" Josef returned his attention to the conversation, as they entered the great hall.

Charles had been asking after Elisabeth, as he cared for Elisabeth almost as much as Josef did…Charles and Bess saw each other as cousins, having grown up together. His friend had been greatly saddened by the drastic change in Elisabeth's demeanor, and was always inquiring after his childhood playmate's health.

"I was saying, if you would kindly pay attention, that Elisabeth spends too much time in the stables. How will she ever marry? How will suitors ever notice her?"

Josef glared at his friend, "Watch your tongue—you will speak of my sister with respect."

Charles looked down, "I apologize. I meant no insult to Bess, you know that."

Josef's face softened. "I know."

Charles spoke with passion, "It's just, how will she ever marry, Josef? She is nineteen. All of her friends are married. People are starting to talk."

"What?" Josef shot Charles a sharp look. "What do you mean, 'talk?'"

"I mean, people are wondering if the reason Elisabeth doesn't marry is because there's something wrong with her—that there is something unattractive about her."

Josef started to protest, "But that's not tru—"

His friend interrupted his defense of his sister, "But the people of Teschen don't know that, Josef. All they know is that Elisabeth is nineteen and unmarried."

"But that's not Bess's fault! Father won't arrange a marriage for her…he ignores her even more than me."

"I know. You don't have to tell me. But this neglect has gone on long enough. You must act. You must—"

But what Charles wanted Josef to do was cut off by a distant horn sounding…and another, and another. Loud, long, and clear the battle horns sounded; echoed by the faint heartbeat of the drums, as they pounded out a marching rhythm.

Charles and Josef glanced at each other, as they turned back to the heavy oak doors and pushed them open.

They quickly crossed the courtyard and stood out upon the stone steps to gaze over the castle's battlements, staring down into Teschen, and the main road that led to the castle.

Horns sounded, triumphant on the afternoon air. Dust rose in the distance. The heavy beating of drums filled the town.

Charles looked away from the spectacle, and turned to Josef. "Looks as though the militia has arrived."

Josef swallowed hard, watching the advancing columns.

Lucius was back.

* * *

Lucius rode tall and proud upon the saddle. A haughty expression was on his face, as he rode alongside his commanders at the head of a column of about sixty soldiers. He eyed the town of Teschen with a vain and superior eye, unimpressed by what he saw. It had been eight years since he had last seen the town and castle that he had once called home. Now the militia was his home. And he hadn't treated it any better than he last one.

Lucius had started off at the lowest rank possible and still be an officer—a lieutenant. His first two years in the militia he had spent as basically a glorified messenger boy, and the fact that he was little more than a letter carrier had rankled him, and rubbed his pride raw, as he seethed inside at the lot he had been cast.

When not delivering messages to the higher ranking officers, Lucius was training—learning how to wield a blade, and fight, how to command and strategize. His reputation had preceded him, and his commanding officers had known that he had lived as the heir's companion. Because of this, the Captain and Major Lucius had served under had paid special attention to his officer training. But that special attention was not enough to sooth Lucius's wounded pride, and hatred and anger towards Friedrich festered in his heart. What was once an organ capable of noble emotions was now a blight of his soul—a sore, a blister, seeping pus into the rest of his body and mind.

As Lucius rode along side Colonel Amadeus, and Colonel Ludwig, he reflected over how he had achieved his current rank…finally he was a rank befitting someone of his perceived stature—a Colonel.

He had been promoted to Captain after two years, in charge of a division of fifteen soldiers. He had his own Lieutenant, the son of the Count Vlad Werden II—a member of the duchy's nobility. The Count himself had once fought in the militia and had received the Order of the Dragon from the Pope in Rome for his services for the Catholic church, though now the realm of Selesia had stronger ties to Protestantism. Still, the Count had named his son Draco, to commemorate the honor and had sent him to the militia when he was of age, much as Friedrich had done with Lucius. Draco was a good and dependable lieutenant, and Lucius found he made a fine lackey, and relished the fact that he was of higher rank than the true son of a nobleman. He used Draco to dispense his orders to his division, as his men did not like him.

His men may have not liked him, but they followed his commands in battle, and that was all Lucius cared about. He had no qualms sending his soldiers to their deaths. He disliked his men as much as they despised him…he saw them as commoners, simple idiots who were beneath him, and his men knew that. They had done their best to make his command difficult, until Lucius had had a soldier nearly flogged to death for insubordination. After that, his command became much easier, as his men followed his orders, not out of respect, but out of fear.

If his commanding officers noticed this, they ignored it. Lucius was allowed to command his men as he saw fit, as long as he carried out the General's orders. And the fact that Lucius had made his connections with the Duke well known, might also have played a part in no one intervening on behalf of Lucius's men.

Lucius had made no effort to hide the fact that he corresponded with the Duke. Some thought that Lucius actually reported directly to Konstantin, acting as a spy within the militia to ensure loyalty. Though this was not true, Lucius encouraged the rumor, as it allowed him his way most of the time.

At first, Lucius had sworn he would never speak to his father again…but then he had realized the foolishness of that oath. If he cut himself off from Friedrich, he cut himself off from power. Lucius realized he still had his father's misplaced affections, and so he carefully cultivated that attention, encouraging it, and playing the part of the good, loyal son.

Friedrich, who longed to have a relationship with a son—with Josef—expressed his attentions to Lucius instead. Since he couldn't stand to see Josef, to be near him, to see his beloved wife's features staring out of Josef's face—her eyes, her cheekbones, her hair—he turned to his other son, and neglected Josef. This was fine with Lucius. In fact, he took great delight in the fact that he was stealing Josef's father from him.

Lucius worked hard to become the perfect son, the ideal of what Friedrich had wanted Josef to be. Where Josef wanted mercy and understanding—qualities Friedrich mistook for weakness—Lucius became harsh, and unforgiving—qualities which Friedrich misinterpreted as strength and willpower. And because Friedrich ignored Josef, he did not see a different quality of strength and willpower in Amalie's son—a better quality.

Once Lucius made Captain, and secured Friedrich's affections, his life entered a period of relative ease. His favor with the Duke ensured that he rarely didn't get his way. He had power, and rank. Through battle experience he had learned swordplay, and strategy. His men feared and obeyed him, and even from a distance, he managed to hurt his half-brother. Life was good.

Women fawned over him, drawn in by his apparent charisma and charm, and he slept with many, dumping them when he grew bored. He had whores and loose women come to his tent at night, or he would often think of raping his sister, and use the thought to pleasure himself. His mind grew ever more dark and twisted, ever sicker, ever more disturbed with each passing day. Feelings of jealousy and hatred and fear consumed him, until, if ever there had been any good in him, it had been trampled out.

Every morning when he woke, he gathered his hate around him as a shield…and every night as he went to sleep, he recalled every slight against him, every demeaning task he had had to do, every insult, every wrong, all the way back to his mother—whom he couldn't even remember her appearance. No matter, he remembered that he had loved his mother, the only person he ever had. And she had died without him getting to say goodbye.

Lucius could remember running to her flat in London, busy dodging the filth and dirt of the crowded streets, arriving at the boarding house and racing up the rickety steps to tell his mother goodbye and that he loved her—only to find her gone, and strangers pawing through her scant possessions with their grubby, greedy hands…

_A man in a dark suit and a woman stood in the room, looking over the measly furniture and blankets. The man was muttering, "Well, the table might fetch a pound or two, but this rag, I don't think it'd bring in more than a shilling, and that's only if the bloodstains can be scrubbed out…"_

_Lucius shouted, "What are you doing?!"_

_The man turned around, and Lucius saw he was holding his mother's dress in his hands. Lucius's vision went red with anger, "Where did you get that?! __Where's my mother?!__"_

—"_Passed away yesterday mornin. She's been taken off to be buried, and her things are to be auctioned off."_

"_NO!__" He lunged forward trying to grab his mother's dress, but the woman blocked him. "__Give it back! You have no right!__"_

_The dark man spoke, his voice was cold, unfeeling. "I have every right. Your mother still owed payment when she died. By rights, everything she possessed belongs to me now. Your mother is dead, boy. Nothing is going to change that."_

_Lucius felt liked he had been slapped. He couldn't say anything, but he stood and glared angrily at the man, tears streaming down his face, until the woman took him by the arm, and led him from the room, down the stairs and out of the house._

Such coldness had been shown to him…such unkindness…was it any wonder that Lucius reflected what he had been taught? Anger and hatred had been spat towards him his entire life. Put down, cast aside, left out. It was all he knew.

And then to find out that he could have grown up the son of a nobleman…it was too much, and he had snapped. In the darkest corners of his heart and soul, in the shadowed nooks where nightmarish demons lingered and lunged, setting dogs to madness and babes to weeping, somewhere in that hellish place, a lost little boy who only wanted his mother back was curled up into a ball and sobbing. In the end, it wasn't everyone else Lucius hated most, it was himself.

And he took that hatred out on the world.

Fueled by his hate, Lucius became an unstoppable killer in battle. Peasants fell before his sword, stuck down as easily as hay is with a scythe. Lucius enjoyed battle, seeing the blood spray, and hear the cries and screams of the defenseless. It echoed what he felt in his soul. He would lose himself to bloodlust, killing and wounding with pleasure, a mad grin upon his visage as he fought.

This last uprising they had squashed…it had been glorious. Such a battle!

Unlike other revolts, this peasant resistance was more serious, larger than the previous uprisings. If left unchecked, there was no doubt it would spread to the other villages, and soon all of Selesia would be embroiled in rebellion. The villagers had been ready to fight for their freedom from Friedrich's oppressive taxes…Even now the sights, sounds, and especially the smells of battle replayed in Lucius's mind…

_The Colonel led the charge into the village from his horseback, the brigade falling in behind him. The little village bristled with pitchforks, and long pikes, scythes and butcher knives, cleavers. Clubs. Mobs of peasants stood, waiting grim faced as the Colonel on horseback, led his foot soldiers._

"_Fire!" the Colonel shouted. It was a good strategy. Though the guns were useless as a weapon at this range, the sounds of the firing and shooting muskets would scare the mob, create panic and fear._

_Unfortunately, the Colonel had forgotten one very important fact…that some of the men he commanded were from this very area, even this village. At his order, some of his men turned and fired upon him, refusing to fire on the peasants—their homes and families. The stabbed the Colonel's horse with their bayonets, while others took down the two Majors and slit their throats, taking out the chain of command with brutal efficiency. Seconds later, they themselves were killed for their betrayals._

_But the damage was done, and without the Colonel or Majors giving commands, the soldiers' formations started to fall apart. In the starting moments of catastrophe, Lucius turned the pandemonium to his advantage. He swiftly stepped into the vacancy left by the dead Colonel, and reorganized the men, leading them into battle._

_Smoke from the muskets hid his men from clear view, and the small explosions of gunpowder panicked the peasant mob, which had never heard such a sound, let alone seen a gun. It was as to them, that thunder and lightning was raining down up them, and many of the peasants panicked and fled._

_Those that remained put up a vicious fight as the two sides clashed. Lucius didn't carry a musket as he was upon horseback, but used his sword until it grew slick and red with blood. _

_The sounds of guns firing and swords clashing filled the muddy streets of the village. Horses screamed in terror, and somewhere, a peasant had picked up the musket of a fallen soldier firing the one shot blindly into the advancing militia, and now was swinging the musket as a club. Lucius rode by him and lobbed his head from his body._

_Lucius ordered his men to light torches and set fire to the buildings and nearby huts, driving the women and children into the streets where they were slaughtered. By now the rebellion had broke, but Lucius gave no orders for mercy, telling his men that they would make an example of this village to ensure that no peasants would revolt again. Blood and tears ran in the streets, as the militia swarmed over the village, annihilating the uprising, ransacking homes and bodies…Lucius rode through it all, his eyes cold, showing no mercy, no remorse…_

When the battle was finished, Lucius had had the few survivors rounded up and chained…they would rot in the dungeons for their disloyalty to their Duke. The militia stacked the peasant bodies and burned them, giving their fellow soldiers who had died in battle a more proper burial with a mass grave. Messengers were dispatched with reports of the battle to the Duke, and soon came back Friedrich's response, expressing his smug pleasure at hearing of his militia's success, and inviting the officers to the castle to feast and celebrate their victory.

The men had cheered to hear they were going home, and their earlier initial hesitation of Lucius's ruthlessness was soon lost to the euphoria of anticipation of many at the thought seeing home and hearths again…their children and wives—family. They began the long march back to Teschen.

At the gates to the outer wall of town, they were met by the two other Colonels of the duchy's militia—Colonel Amadeus, and Colonel Ludwig. They fell into place on either side of Lucius, as the three rode their stallions, while the rest of the men marched, some Majors and Captains also riding behind, alongside the men.

As they proceeded further into the town, passing peasant huts, the people of Teschen gathered in the streets, cheering and celebrating the return of their men. Women waved handkerchiefs, sobbing and smiling. Children laughed and ran and played through the crowds. Young boys stared with wide eyes at the battle worn soldiers with admiration.

A little boy straining against his mother's arms, at last broke free and darted forward, to gaze at Lucius with eyes full of awe. Lucius ignored the child, but he thought, _Finally…Finally I get the recognition I deserve._

The procession continued up the main muddy street, until they reached the inner wall of the castle. The portcullis was already raised, and they crossed inside to the inner town and courtyard, now walking upon cobblestone. Here is where the bourgeois and nobility lived, as well as the soldiers—the barracks on hand so the militia could be summoned quickly in case of an attack. The militia spilled into the courtyard, peasants and people following them, and Lucius caught sight of the castle where he had spent the majority of his childhood.

The nobility of Selesia had gathered at the head of the castle, on the large wide steps that led to the castle's doors. Friedrich stood in front of them all, his crown upon his head, dressed in royal garments. Josef stood to Friedrich's right, and Lucius stared at his little brother as he rode up to where the Duke was waiting.

Lucius was astounded…Josef had changed, for the better. He was almost as tall as Lucius now, and he held himself with self-assurance, confident as always in his rank in society. A jeweled, ceremonial sword—which put Lucius's own sword to shame—had replaced his usual fencing rapier. His half-brother stood straight and proud, tall, thin, and handsome, his long hair curling about his neck, as it moved gently in the light breeze.

Lucius took in the sharp, clean, commanding appearance of his brother, and his own feelings of pride and seniority began to fade. He had always known that Josef was of a higher class than him, but seeing Josef standing to the right of their father—at the spot that _should_ have been his—now Lucius truly understood that Josef outranked him, outclassed him, and would always outrank him, no matter how many promotions Lucius received, no matter how far he rose in the military. As he thought this, and stared at his younger brother, he was filled with a sudden blazing rage.

As though he could sense it, Josef turned his eyes from the bedraggled men to Lucius. Their eyes locked across the courtyard. Eight years ago, it would have been Josef who flinched and turned away, but now Josef possessed an inner strength that came with maturity and intelligence, and at fifteen, he met Lucius's gaze, and held it steadily, letting his eyes fill with a type of strength alien to Lucius. This time it was Lucius who flinched and turned away…furious at himself for doing so, but unable to meet his brother's fierce brown eyes.

He turned his attention to his father, the Duke's left side, surprised to find it empty. _Well, well, it seems dear Elisabeth does not feel up to attending the procession. Interesting…_ Indeed, at the Duke's left, where Elisabeth should have been standing there was no one. Lucius wondered what was going on.

They reached the base of the steps, and the three head officers dismounted, and climbed the steps, kneeling at the Duke's feet and kissing his ring. Friedrich turned his attention to the splendor and richness gathered in the courtyard, as well as the peasants and villages of Teschen, and said, "Welcome home my soldiers. You have fought bravely and have protected Selesia from her enemies. Tonight we shall feast in celebration and toast your victory!"

The crowds roared their approval, clapping and waving. Lucius remained on one knee, in front of Friedrich, until the Duke told his colonels to rise. Friedrich turned away from the crowds, and the gathered nobility parted before him, and he strode inside the castle, Josef a step behind him to his right. The nobility trailed in after him, and then at last, the officers of the militia.

The great hall was indeed a majestic sight—strung with golden threaded tapestries, with a huge fireplace and mantle at the far end. Large portraits hung on the walls, dispersed between the drapes and rugs that covered much of the stone. On the floor were the skins and furs of animals—wolves, bears, panthers…the beasts' jaws frozen forever in their final snarls. The space above the fireplace was graced with the largest portrait of all, that of the Duke, looking commanding and regal in his royal garb and crown.

A raised platform had been set up in front of the fireplace and portrait, with the Duke's table upon it, set for three.

Three long tables were placed side-by-side in front of the Duke's table, their lengths stretching the entire space of the hall. Wooden benches were available for seating, and Friedrich's table and the feasting tables were a sight to behold unto themselves. Pheasants and wild birds had been roasted, the skin golden and slick with the bird's fat, as it dripped from the roasting spit onto the table. Cheeses and breads of all kinds, as well as ale was available to the officers and nobility.

The feast and hall were a breathtaking sight, and Lucius gasped upon entering.

Friedrich strode to his table, Josef following. The officers and nobility remained standing until Friedrich and Josef had taken their seats, Josef sitting at his father's right hand.

As soon as Friedrich and Josef had sat, the upper class of Teschen and the militia's officers fell to the spread laid out on the great tables. Ale flowed, and the great hall grew noisy and rowdy with talk, laughter, and song as the celebration began.

* * *

Elisabeth pulled sharply on the reins, bringing her mare Spade up short, and turning her horse back in the direction of Teschen.

To her left, a deep voice asked, "What is it, Elisabeth?"

Elisabeth looked back over her shoulder at her riding companion, "Listen Merek…can't you hear them?"

Merek cocked his head, eyes widening as the distant sounds of horns and drums reached him. "The militia. The feast! Damn!"

Elisabeth blushed, and Merek turned to her, realizing his rudeness, "I apologize for my language, my lady."

Elisabeth cast her eyes demurely downward, and then looked back up, "I am supposed to attend tonight's feast with Father and Josef. Hurry, or we'll be late." She kicked Spade into the fastest gallop the aging mare could manage, riding back towards the castle.

Merek followed her, calling, "I am supposed to attend the feast too, you know. Father is going to be so angry."

Elisabeth didn't respond but focused on her riding. If Merek thought his father would be upset, it was nothing to how Friedrich would be. Elisabeth felt tears well in her eyes, and she prayed that she would make it back on time.

Elisabeth had gone out riding in the morning. This was not unusual for her—she often went riding out…what people in the castle didn't know, is that she met someone—Merek. And he wasn't just any someone…he was her suitor.

It was a big step for Elisabeth. She didn't know any better that meeting with Merek in this fashion was highly inappropriate behavior. Due to Friedrich's neglect, she had never been taught these lessons. Merek was handsome and something of a local rebel, and Elisabeth was swept up with him, in his attentions to her.

Merek stood at 5'5, the second son of the Count Ostheim—his blond hair framed a face tanned from riding, and dark brown eyes gazed at Elisabeth affectionately over defined cheekbones and a square jaw. He rode a black stallion, to compliment Elisabeth's white mare, and the two often met in secret, Merek taking advantage of Elisabeth's ignorance.

Together the galloped side by side back to the castle. Riding together had been Merek's suggestion; he didn't tell Elisabeth the reason why was so that if they were discovered, Merek could claim he had just happened upon Elisabeth riding alone, and was escorting the lady back home. Merek wanted Elisabeth—badly—but he was patient. First he would win Elisabeth's heart.

When he had first approached Elisabeth, she had been extremely frightened and shied away. Slowly but surely Merek coaxed her out, always speaking gently to her, never touching her, bringing her tokens of his love. Gradually, Elisabeth started to respond. Now, nearly a year later, she was almost completely comfortable for the first time since her rape in the presence of a man who wasn't her brother.

Her rape…it was Elisabeth's most closely kept secret. She had never told anyone how Lucius had violated her. She feared his words, and her older brother. She was dreading her return to the castle, for surely Lucius would be there, and Elisabeth was frightened. She had pleaded with her father to be excused from the feast, but Friedrich wouldn't hear of it.

"_You are my daughter, and you will do as I command."_

Elisabeth didn't want to think about what would happen if she was late to the feast. She bit her lip and urged Spade faster.

When she and Merek galloped into the courtyard, Elisabeth could already tell they were too late. The procession and crowds were already disbanding, sounds of feasting coming from inside the castle. She dismounted, handing Spade off to a stable hand, and approached the castle doors with Merek.

"I'll wait a bit, and enter after you," he whispered to her. "We shouldn't enter together."

Elisabeth hesitated, her heart in her throat, choking her. Tendrils of fear wrapped themselves around her…_Lucius is in there…he is in there…_The color drained from her face, and she felt faint with fear. She stood frozen, knowing she must go inside and take her place at her father's left side, but dreading to enter.

Merek noticed her hesitation, "Elisabeth? Is something wrong?"

Elisabeth closed her eyes. Merek, of course, did not know of her rape. Elisabeth was finding more and more though that she wanted him to know. She was falling in love with Merek, and she _needed _him to know the truth. But she was worried about how Merek would take the news…she couldn't find it in her to tell him yet.

She opened her eyes, "No, Merek. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine, just catching my breath."

Merek smiled and winked at her. Taking courage from Merek's obvious concern, Elisabeth pushed open the door and slipped inside the great hall…preparing herself for her father's anger…

And for Lucius.

* * *

Josef sat to his father's left and took a sip of his wine. He was worried. Where was Elisabeth? Surely his timid sister was not deliberately disobeying their father? Something must have happened to her.

The longer the feast grew, and still no signs of Elisabeth, the more Josef fretted and worried. At one point Friedrich had even hissed at him, "_Where is your sister?_" But Josef didn't know.

He caught Charles's eye, from where his friend sat among the other nobles, representing his sickly father, and Charles offered him a half-shrug, before tearing into a bite of pheasant.

Just when he couldn't stand it anymore—images of his sister raped or murdered flashing through his head—the oak doors at the end of the hallway opened, and Elisabeth slipped inside.

Josef breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his sister quietly make her way up to the royal table. She appeared pale and trembling…indeed her face was ashen. She took her place at Friedrich's side, and looked at her plate.

The doors to the great hall opened again, and Josef sat up straighter, arching a brow as Merek Ostheim entered. Josef and Charles exchanged a look…both Merek and Elisabeth had been conspicuously absent during Friedrich's speech. Josef watched as Merek attempted to catch his sister's eye in vain. _What is going on between them? Did he hurt her? Is that why Elisabeth seems so shaken?_ Anger flared in him…_How dare he even lay a finger upon my sister!_

Before Josef had time to think about what to do, one of the officers rose from the middle table and approached the Duke's board. With dread, Josef saw it was Lucius.

His half-brother was eyeing the royal table with an expression that clearly said he thought he belonged there, and he glared at Josef as Josef glared back.

Lucius knelt in front of the Duke, and shot a look at Elisabeth, who had shrunk back in her chair. Turning his face slightly so that Josef and Friedrich couldn't see, he darted his tongue out over his lips. Elisabeth clutched at the edge of the table…straining to keep her composure.

Friedrich spoke, "Arise, Colonel Ashford."

Lucius rose from his bended knee and took Friedrich's offered hand, kissing his father's ring. "I have come to pay you my respects, my Lord."

Friedrich seemed much pleased by this. "As you should, Colonel. I hear you have shown exemplary bravery in battle. Come to my study later, and I shall make your promotion official."

Lucius bowed his head, "As my Lord commands." Shooting one last look at poor Elisabeth, he returned to feasting with the other officers.

Elisabeth was in extreme agitation. Every second of being in the same room as Lucius was torture. She struggled to keep her face calm, to not give her fear away.

Lucius sat drinking among the officers.

Friedrich sat at the head table, as usual, obvilous to the drama unfolding around him.

Merek sat among the nobility, trying to catch Elisabeth's eye.

And on Friedrich's right, Josef watched his sister. _Bess is definitely upset…what did Merek do to her? _His brotherly instincts to protect her rose in him, and he looked at the Count Ostheim's second son.

If Merek had harmed Elisabeth in any way…

_I will kill him._

_Finis_

* * *

So there you go!! *whew* I again apoligize for the wait. Thanks so much for your patience. *hugs*


End file.
